Kennedy as the President of United States Essay

Kennedy as the President of United States - Essay Example Talking about his family background, Kennedy was born in Brookline Massachusetts. Jack Kennedy joined military services during the Second World War. Although he was first rejected because of his chronic backache, he somehow got himself in the naval services due to his father’s influence. During the Second World War, Jack Kennedy served in motor torpedo squadron and got himself a medal due to his bravery and presence of mind during a patrol when they got attacked by a Japanese submarine and he got all his crew members safely on an island instead of surrendering to the Japanese. Kennedy had to represent his family politically after his brother who was the torch bearer of the family got killed in action. Kennedy had been the mayor of Boston and got elected three times as a member of The Congress. He represented the congress party in the elections of 1960 and defeated his opponent Richard Nixon to be elected as the president of the United States. It should be called as unlucky for the young president that he came at the time when everything in the country was unstable. The country was facing international crisis as well as it was also on the verge of a civil war. The cold war, the Cuban missile crisis, the bay of pigs, the rights of the African Americans, all these were the problems that the newly elected president had to face during his stay at the oval office. But, it always had been his utmost priority to work for the nation. From the very first day of him as a president, he had been following the very rule set by Theodore Roosevelt, i.e. â€Å"a president is bound to be as big a man as he can† (Reston 1963). President Kennedy always advocated for non violent solutions of all the issues. He was a pacifist. It had been his utmost priority throughout his time as the president to pacify all the violent actives happening around him (Reston 1963). It was in his time as the president that the civil rights bill was passed. He was the one to speak for the equity and justice for all. Before he was elected as the president, in his election campaign he spoke for the rights of African Americans which gave them a little hope. His efforts to stop both internal and external violence are very significant in stabilizing the situation of the country. Kennedy gave protection to the African American community of the United States. He gave them their rights. Once he used his father’s influence for the release of King jr. when he was arrested during a protest. His efforts for non violence in the country were acknowledged by all. â€Å".It ought to be possible†¦ for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops.† â€Å"It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the stree t, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal.† â€Å"It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case†¦

Dents Disease: Symptoms, Genetics, and Treatments

Dents Disease: Symptoms, Genetics, and Treatments Dents Disease Alessander Leyendecker Junior Clinical Aspects Dents disease is a recently characterized syndrome caused by a genetic mutation that leads to a renal tubular disorder and is characterized by manifestations of proximal tubule dysfunction. The proximal tubule is responsable for the reabsorption of sodium, potassium, calcium, glucose and low-molecular-weight proteins (like retinol binding protein and ÃŽ ±1 microglobulin and ÃŽ ²2 microglobulin) and for the secretion of ammonia, toxins, drugs and H+. Therefore, a proximal tubule dysfunction like Dents disease is characterized by low-molecular-weight proteinuria (excretion of low-molecular-weight proteins in the urine), hypercalcinuria (high concentration of calcium in the urine), nephocalcinosis (deposition of calcium salts in the renal parenchyma), nephrolithiasis (formation of crystalline aggregates that can develop anywhere along the urinary tract) and progressive renal failure. Low-molecular-weight proteinuria represents the most common symptom of Dents disease (Devuyst Thakker, 2010). Mapping: A higher disease severity in males and a lack of male to male transmission were identified by an analysis of 5 unrelated British families. The fact that females may show a milder phenotype suggests an X-linked recessive inheritance. The locus position on chromossome Xp11 was identified by linkage analysis of 2 3-generation families with Dent disease by Pook et al. (1993). Twenty X-linked polymorphic markers were used and the Linkage was established between Dents disease and the Xp1l 1 loci ARAFI (Z max = 5.42, 0 = 0.000), DXS426 (Z max = 3.61, 0 = 0.000), DXS255 (Z max = 5.48, 6 = 0.000) and DXS988 (Z max = 4.25, 0 = 0.045) to determine a locus order. In addition, DXS255 has presented a microdeletion in the affected members of one family, allowing the localization of Dents disease to Xp11.22 (Pook et al., 1993). Furthermore, another proximal renal tubular disorder associated with nephrolithiasis in a North American family and referred to as X-linked recessive nephrolithiasis has also been mapped to Xpl1.22. Suggesting that maybe there is one gene causing both X-linked recessive nephrolithiasis and Dents disease. Molecular Genetics: A study conducted by Fisher et al (1994) found a microdeletion in one Dent’s disease kindred, allowing the identification of the gene CLCN5 as a candidate. Furthermore, an investigation of 11 kindreds with renal tube disorders indentified 3 nonsense, 4 missense, 2 donor splice site mutations, 1 intragenic deletion and 1 microdeletion in CLCN5 gene (Llyod et al., 1996). Furthermore, Hoopes et al. (2005) indentified that some patients with Dents disease suffer from extra-renal symptoms such as cataract, mild intellectual impairment and hypotonia. Shared mutations in OCRL1 with the oculo-cerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe were identified in these patients. The presence of such extra-renal symptoms with mutations relating to Lowe syndrome is known as Dent disease 2. A research conducted by Bà ¶kenkamp et al. (2009) showed that low-molecular-weight proteinuria was a constant feature in all both Dent disease 1, Dent disease 2 and oculo-cerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe. However, there was a wide overlap in most of the other symptoms of the proximal tubulopathy. Nephrocalcinosis was observed more frequently in patients with Dents disease 1 than those with Dents disease 2 and Lowe syndrome; aminoaciduria, renal tubular acidosis, and renal failure was observed more frequently in patients with Lowe syndrome than patients with Dent-disease 1 and Dent disease disease 2. Genetics: All these findings have demonstrated that both Dent disease 1 and Dent disease 2 are a X-linked recessive inherited condition, caused by mutations in the OCRL1 (Dent disease 2) or CLCN5 (Dent disease 1) genes. These genes are located on chromosome Xp11.22 (Dent disease 1) and Xq25 (Dent disease 2). Mutation in CLCN5 are responsible for about 60% of the cases of Dent disease and mutation in OCRL are responsible for about 15% of the cases of Dent disease (Hoopes et al., 2004). So, nearly 25% of the cases of Dent disease do not have a known disease-causing mutation in OCRL or CLCN5, implying another genetic heterogeneity. Due to the fact that Dents disease is a X-linked recessive disorder, the disease is generally found in males only. Females carriers may show a milder phenotype. Furthermore, the disease may be present in early childhood (Devuyst Thakker, 2010). To date around 250 families with Dent-1 disease and about 50 patients with Dent-2 disease have been reported (Ludwig, Levtchenko Bà ¶kenkamp, 2014). The diagnosis of Dents disease is always difficult due to the wide variability of clinical presentation and, occasionally, lack of family history. Therefore, the disorder is likely underdiagnosed and the prevalence of this disease in the population is still unknown. More than 200 Dents disease 1 patients withCLCN5defects have been described with several different disease-causing mutations all over the gene. The types of mutations includes missense (44%) and nonsense (26%) mutations, small deletions/insertions (15%) and splice defects (11%), with a few hotspots, usually affecting arginine codons. Large insertions/deletions can be detected in around 4%of the patients. However, OCRLmutations in Dents disease 2 patients are not uniformly distributed. Missense mutations are usually found in exons 8–15 while nonsense or frameshift mutations very often affect exons (Ludwig, Levtchenko Bà ¶kenkamp, 2014). CLCN5 encodes the electrogenic Clà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ »/H+ exchanger ClC-5. OCRL1 encodes a phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIPà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¡) 5-phosphatase and mutations are also linked to the Lowe Syndrome. Mutations in any of these genes can culminate in the lack or dysfunction of these important proteins and result in the phenothype of Dents disease. Pathophysiology: The ability to reabsorb low-molecular-weight proteins and albumin that are ultrafiltered by the glomerulus are characteristics of the epithelial cells covering the proximal tubule portions of the nephron. This ability involves a process called receptor-mediated endocytosis. In the receptor-mediated endocytosis the particle to be endocytosed binds to specific receptor proteins concentrated at certain locations in the plasma membrane. Several types of receptors participate in the receptor-mediated endocytosis. These sites form a small depression in the plasma membrane that is covered by clathrin (a type of fibrous protein). After the binding of a ligand to plasma membrane-spanning receptors, a signal is sent through the membrane, leading to membrane coating, accumulation of the ligands into coated pits, and formation of a membrane invagination. The receptor and its ligand are then opsonized in clathrin-coated vesicles. The clathrin confers stability to the vesicle that are being transp orted into the cell. In the cytoplasm the vesicle loses its clathrin coverage and individual vesicles fuse to early endosomes. The acidification of endosomes by proton pumps ATP-dependent leads to the dissociation of the protein-receptor complex. This process allows the endosomes to fuse with the lysosomes through late endosomes. This acidification is reached by ATP-mediated transport of cytosolic H+ through the V-ATPase and demand an equal Cl conductance to preserve electroneutrality. It has been theorized that the H+ gradient can be neutralized by the C1C-5 action. In theory, ClC-5 provides an electrical shunt to neutralize the H+ gradient. Therefore, the vesicular acidification should be impaired by the loss of the endosomal Cl conductance mediated by ClC-5, resulting in the dysfunction of proximal tubule cells. To confirm this hypothesis, Piwon et al. (2000) created two distinct strains of ClC-5 knock-out (KO) mice which both have symptoms of the main characteristics of Dentâ₠¬â„¢s disease including manifestations of proximal tubule dysfunction like low-molecular-weight proteinuria. A reduced acidification of early endosomes in ClC-5-deficient mice have been demonstrated by in vitro experiments. However, ClC-5 is a 2Cl/H+ exchanger and not just a Cl channel, so the importance of this exchange activity for Dent’s disease was still unknown and needed to be assessed. In order to investigate this relevant question, Novarino et al. (2010) created a knock-in (KI) mouse presenting a point mutation in a important glutamate residue which transforms the exchanger into an uncoupled Cl channel that should help the endosomal acidification. The conventional ClC-5 KO mouse was subsequently compared with the KI mice. Acidification of the renal endosomes from wild-type and KI mice was regular, but greatly impaired in KO mice. Nevertheless, the same symptoms were indentified in both KI and KO mice, despite normal endosomal acidification and patients with Dentâ€⠄¢s disease, including low-molecular-weight proteinuria, hypercalciuria and hyperphosphaturia. Moreover, both the KI and KO mouse presented impaired proximal tubule endocytosis, indicating that proximal tubule dysfunction in Dent’s disease may happen in spite of the regular acidification of the endosomes. These findings indicate a function for a diminished endosomal Cl accumulation in Dent’s disease. Diagnosis: The clinical diagnosis of Dent’s disease is grounded on the presence of low-molecular-weight proteinuria, hypercalciuria, and at least one of the following characteristics: kidney stones, hematuria, nephrocalcinosis, renal insufficiency or hypophosphataemia (Hoopes et al., 2004). The clinical diagnosis can also be supported by nephrolithiasis and/or history of X-linked inheritance of renal Fanconi syndrome. The diagnosis can be confirmed by the recognition of mutation in both CLCN5 or OCRL1 by sequence analysis. Sequence analysis of affected males allows the identification of whole-gene deletions, multiexonic and exonic due to the lack of amplification is this case. Confirmation may also require deletion/duplication studies. It is imperative to previously identify the disease-causing mutation in the family when conducting a carrier test for at-risk relatives. The diagnosis of Dent disease 2, related with OCRL1 mutations, is more common than a diagnosis of Lowe syndrome when th ere are an absence of clinical symptoms and lack of severe intellectual deficit. Treatment: The reduction of hypercalciuria, prevention of nephrocalcinosis and kidney stones, and retardate the evolution of chronic kidney disease (nephrolithiasis) are the objectives of the current treatment. Thiazide diuretics in doses higher than 0.4 mg/kg/day have reducted urinary calcium excretion by more than 40% in males with Dent disease (Raja et al., 2002). However, side effects like hypokalemia, volume depletion, and cramping often occur. Similarly, we need to be cautious due to the fact that an increased hypercalciuria can result from the treatment of rickets with vitamin D. Furthermore, recent studies has been shown that a high citrate diet can slow the progression of chronic kidney disease in CLCN5 knockout mice (Cebotaru et al., 2005) and can be efficiently used to treat Dent disease. Genetic Counseling: The two types of Dent’s disease are X-linked. Therefore, men are affected more harshly. The father of an affected man will not have the disease or will he be a carrier of the mutation. The probability of transmitting the disease allele in each pregnancy is 50% if the mother of the proband is a carrier. Males who inherit the mutation will be affected and females who inherit the mutation will be carriers and will generally not be strongly affected. Affected men pass the disease-causing mutation to all of their daughters (who become carriers) and none of their sons. It is possible to conduct carrier testing for at-risk female relatives and prenatal testing for pregnancies at increased. Word count: 1673 References Blanchard A, Vargas-Poussou R, Peyrard S, Mogenet A, Baudouin V, Boudailliez B, Charbit M, Deschesnes G, Ezzhair N, Loirat C, Macher MA, Niaudet P, Azizi M: Effect of hydrochlorothiazide on urinary calcium excretion in Dent disease: an uncontrolled trial. Am J Kidney Dis 2008, 52:1084-1095. Bà ¶kenkamp A, Bà ¶ckenhauer D, Cheong HI, Hoppe B, Tasic V, Unwin R, Ludwig M. (2009). Dent-2 disease: A mild variant of Lowe Syndrome. J. Pediatr, 155, pp. 94-99, ISSN 0022-3476 Cebotaru V, Kaul S, Devuyst O, Cai H, Racusen L, Guggino WB, Guggino SE: High citrate diet delays progression of renal insufficiency in the ClC-5 knockout mouse model of Dent’s disease. Kidney Int 2005, 68:642-652. Devuyst, O., Thakker, R. V. (2010). Dent’s disease. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. Fisher, S. E., Black, G. C., Lloyd, S. E., Hatchwell, E., Wrong, O., Thakker, R. V., Craig, I. W. (1994). Isolation and partial characterization of a chloride channel gene which is expressed in kidney and is a candidate for Dents disease (an X-linked hereditary nephrolithiasis). Human molecular genetics, 3(11), 2053-2060. Hara-Chikuma M, Wang Y, Guggino SE, Guggino WB, Verkman AS: Impaired acidification in early endosomes of ClC-5 deficient proximal tubule. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2005, 329:941-946. Hoopes, R. R., Raja, K. M., Koich, A., Hueber, P., Reid, R., Knohl, S. J., Scheinman, S. J. (2004). Evidence for genetic heterogeneity in Dents disease.Kidney international,65(5), 1615-1620. Hoopes RR Jr, Shrimpton AE, Knohl SJ, Hueber P, Hoppe B, Matyus J, Simckes A, Tasic V, Toenshoff B, Suchy SF, Nussbaum RL, Scheinman SJ. Dent Disease with mutations in OCRL1. Am J Hum Genet. 2005;76:260–267. doi: 10.1086/427887. Ludwig, M., Levtchenko, E., Bà ¶kenkamp, A. (2014). Clinical utility gene card for: Dent disease (Dent-1 and Dent-2).European Journal of Human Genetics. Lloyd, S. E., Pearce, S. H., Fisher, S. E., Steinmeyer, K., Schwappach, B., Scheinman, S. J., Thakker, R. V. (1996). A common molecular basis for three inherited kidney stone diseases. Nature, 379(6564), 445-449. Novarino G, Weinert S, Rickheit G, Jentsch TJ: Endosomal chloride-proton exchange rather than chloride conductance is crucial for renal endocytosis. Science 2010, 328:1398-1401. Pagon, R. A., Adam, M. P., Bird, T. D., Dolan, C. R., Fong, C. T., Stephens, K., Rossetti, S. (2012). Dent Disease. Piwon N, Gunther W, Schwake M, Bà ¶sl MR, Jentsch TJ: ClC-5 Cl-channel disruption impairs endocytosis in a mouse model for Dent’s disease. Nature 2000, 408:369-373. Pook, M. A., Wrong, O., Wooding, C., Norden, A. G. W., Feest, T. G., Thakker, R. V. Dents disease, a renal Fanconi syndrome with nephrocalcinosis and kidney stones, is associated with a microdeletion involving DXS255 and maps to Xp11.22. Hum. Molec. Genet. 2: 2129-2134, 1993. Raja KA, Schurman S, DMello R G, Blowey D, Goodyer P, Van Why S, Ploutz-Snyder RJ, Asplin J, Scheinman SJ. Responsiveness of hypercalciuria to thiazide in Dents disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2002;13:2938–44 Wrong.O.M., Norden.A.G.W. and Feest.T.G. (1990) Quart. J. Med. 77, 1086-1087.

Act Three Scene Five of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay

Act Three Scene Five of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 5 is a very important and emotional scene because it shows huge development in both plot and character as well ass a wide variety of language. Before this scene, Romeo of the House of Montague fell in love with Juliet - a Capulet. The Capulets were feuding with the Montagues. Romeo and Juliet were secretly married by Friar Lawrence on the same day Romeo killed Tybalt, who himself killed Mercutio. Just before this scene, Lord Capulet and Paris arranged the marriage which prepares us for the dramatic irony in this scene. Act 3 Scene 5 begins after Romeo and Juliet just spent their wedding night together. This scene is dramatic because Romeo and Juliet begin with a non-serious argument about whether it is morning or night. As Romeo leaves, Juliet has a premonition about never seeing him alive again. Romeo tells her everything will be fine and then leaves. It is the last time they see each other alive. After he leaves, Lady Capulet enters and they talk about Tybalt's death and then Lady Capulet tells Juliet about the planned wedding. Juliet is horrified and angry. Lord Capulet enters and he becomes angry and threatens to throw Juliet out if she disobeys him. Juliet appeals to Lady Capulet and Nurse but they both refuse to help her. Juliet decides to commit suicide if she can't get help from Friar Lawrence. The events of this scene have serious repercussions for the bleh. After this scene's action, Juliet takes a drug which fakes her death. Romeo believes she is actually dead and takes poison in her crypt. Juliet wakes up and sees he is dead. She takes his dagger ... ...age and mood of fear and danger strongly contrasts with the mood of joy and beauty of the aubade at the start of the scene. Juliet uses religious images in her pleas for help to Lady Capulet and her nurse, e.g.: "O God!" "My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven;" and when Lady Capulet and the nurse both reject and 'betray' her, she shows a deep amount of stress and grief. "Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend!" The scene ends with a short soliloquy by Juliet, stating how if Friar Lawrence cannot help her she will resort to suicide to end her grief. The scene ends in a mood of despair which contrasts the happy start of the scene. This particular scene achieves its dramatic impact in the clever and emotional language used throughout the scene and the development of each of the characters.

A Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh is a mysterious painting in which Gogh paints a picture that has energetic colors and expressive. This painting can be described as shadowy but yet still stimulating. It can signify a variety of moods, objects, and atmosphere. Van Gogh portrays a small French town located in the countryside. This town is characterized by rolling mountains, a sky with stars, small village, fields, a large tree, and a church. He uses these details to paint a story full of color and intrigue.He paints the sky purple and dark blue to signify the time of day. He uses orange and yellow for the bright stars or lighting in the sky. The mountains that border the town are colored a dark blue and are masked by a tree, which is colored black. Green is applied for the grass and other various plants and vegetation. He uses a vast array of colors to paint the houses and buildings in the village. For this painting mood and description play a huge part. The evening sky is exposed with light shining t hrough the sky.One person might think that the stars are dashing down to earth, meaning it could be the end of the world. He shows the beauty of the countryside at night. Looking up at the sky the bright, yellowish-white stars twirl and give the effect that the wind is blowing. The wind itself is blowing fast and swift, it could be showing an emotion he was feeling. Right below the sky is the mountains that surround the village. Their presence brings security and harmony to the French village. The mountains provide a shadow and guard from a distance.Being a man of religion Gogh painted a church in the center of the painting which can simply be symbolized as a place for reaching out to God. With the use of its colors, type of texture, and descriptive objects, Van Gogh develops a unique painting that any observer can interpret in any way. It can be an image of finding peace as you can sit down and find the beauty of the landscape. Or it can be seen as a dark sad image; you can simply sit down and find that the location is cold and windy. I find it to be peaceful and perfect.

Allegories in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Allegories in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has many allegories within. An allegory is a symbol with a deeper meaning. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there are many allegories. First, there is the religious allegory of the devil and the lower self as well as the â€Å"hiding† aspect of Hyde. Hyde is also an allegory of human character in general. The city of London, and all of its descriptions written by Robert Lewis Stevenson, is filled with allegories. First, Hyde is a complex allegory because it is arguable what exactly Hyde is supposed to represent. Hyde could be an allegory of the devil himself. Hyde could be a demon inside of Jekyll, sort of like in the Exorcist, that needs to come out but eventually become uncontrollable. Although Dr. Jekyll is described as a nice man who has many friends, but he losses them all when he drinks the potion to become Hyde. Hyde could just be an allegory for a literal part of Dr. Jekyll, which is Stevenson’s statement of saying that every person holds a â€Å"lower self,† that just wait for an opportunity to reveal evil. Also one of the most famous quotes from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is â€Å"If he shall be Mr. Hide than I shall be Mr. Seek. † This could also mean that Hyde is just a part of Jekyll’s soul that literally hides within. Lastly, Hyde could be an allegory of human character itself. Hyde could be an allegory of the capability that everyone has within. However some people never reveal this capability, but for others, like drug users, it is easier for the evilness to come out. London is also an allegory. Mr. Hyde lives in SoHo, which is described as dark, dingy, and filled with the filth of London, which is why it makes sense that Hyde lives there of all places. SoHo is supposed to represent the capability of evil, and where it is grown. In Victorian England, the poorest of the poor lived in awful slums, some had no choice but to live a life of crime and evil, just to escape their reality. On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll lives in a distinguished and posh neighborhood. This is an allegory for Jekyll’s character, as he is a nice man. However, in Victorian England, many bad things went on behind these closed doors, which is true for Dr. Jekyll. The door in the first chapter is an allegory, as well as all the passageways described, like the one to the laboratory. These passageways and doors are places in-between worlds where most of the events in the novel takes place. The in-between of the worlds is like Dr. Jekyll. He is not a good man, nor is he evil. Jekyll is complex, and struggles with the evil part of his personality. Allegories are abundant in the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Characterization of John Proctor - The Crucible essays

Characterization of John Proctor - The Crucible essays It is not uncommon for a small insignificant lie to roll downhill and become an uncontrollable snowball. This same analogy applies to collective hysterias; a persons fear of someone or something easily spreads from person to person, growing into massive chaos. An example of a collective hysteria is illustrated in Arthur Millers play The Crucible, for a group of young girls in Salem caused its population to doubt the sanctity that once dominated, making people fear and believe in the dark witchcraft forces among them. As this took place, the town unconsciously divided itself into those who believed in witchcraft, and those who relentlessly condemned its existence in town. In the play, the characters Anne Putnam and Rebecca Nurse illustrate these opposing views; Anne being one who secretly sides with witchcraft while Rebecca openly condemns it. These two characters demonstrate an abysmal contrast in their attitudes and beliefs, sharing very few similarities. In the readers view, Anne Putnam was one of the female characters most likely to be linked with witchcraft, for she demonstrated several signs of siding with this dark concept and even indirectly practicing it. Anne Putnam instructed her child Ruth to join with Tituba so they could conjure her perished sons and daughters spirits. Most mothers in Salem were reprimanding their daughters for involving themselves in the black arts, but Mrs. Putnam was instigating her daughter to be part of these acts, and yet played a saints role in society by condoning people involved in witchcraft. Moreover, Mrs. Putnam was one of the many people who signed the accusation against Rebecca Nurse, even when she had paid her a favor by serving as a midwife during the labor of her eight children. She indirectly blamed her for the death of seven of her eight children, only supporting her accusation by stating that she had been her midwife, thus she was responsi...

Montanna essays

Montanna essays Native Americans first settled in Montana about twelve thousand years ago. The Salish and Kootenai migrated to Montana from the Pacific Northwest and settled in the Rocky Mountains. The Black feet, Crow, and Cheyenne moved from the east and settled in the Great Plains of Montana. In 1803 the United States bought land from France that included Montana. It didnt take long for the United States Explorers to start exploring the newly acquired land, even the famous Meriwether Lewis and, William Clark. Lewis and Clark entered Montana 1805. One of the many things the great explorers wrote about was Montana abundance of buffalo. Manuela Lisa established Montanas first fur trading post in the 1860s. The post was set up on the Bighorn and Yellowstone Rivers meet. Beaver pelts were one of the many hot furs being traded in the new trading post, and Montana was the place to trap beavers. The 1860s brought the a Gold craze to Montana when prospectors ( a prospector is a person who looks for minerals) started to find gold in the southern Rockies. Mining towns sprung up all over Montana when thousands o prospectors rushed to Montana in the hope of finding gold. The same years that the gold rush came to Montana cattle ranching also made its way to the territory. Texas cattle rancher brought longhorn. Montana was the ideal place for ranching due the large amount of plains and open space. The ranchers benefited from the gold minors by selling the beef to the mining towns. When the United States government set aside lands in Montana for Indian reservations, the gold miners and rancher ignored the Indians rights to those land. When they ignored the land reservations Native Americans attacked them. U.S troops arrived in 1876, to try and stop the attacks. General George Custer attacked, the uprising Native Americans, at Little Bighorn River. The Sioux and Cheyenne won and even killed Custer and his men. Even though ...

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy

Thomas Edison Saw the Value of Renewable Energy American inventor Thomas Edison often gets a bad rap from environmentalists. After all, he invented those incandescent light bulbs we are all so busy replacing with more efficient models.  He developed many industrial chemicals in conditions that would alarm modern environmental cleanup crews. And of course, he is known best for inventing or improving  a whole slew of power-thirsty electric machines and appliances- from the phonograph to the motion picture camera. Edison merged his own company to create General Electric, one of the worlds largest corporation. By the end of his life, Edison had been awarded more than 1,300 individual patents. Almost single-handedly, it seems, Edisons work at the end of the 19th century made modern civilization dependent on electricity- and the natural resources required to generate it. Edison Experimented With Renewable Energy More than a tireless promoter of electricity, Thomas Edison was also a pioneer in renewable energy and green technology. He experimented with home-based wind turbines to generate electricity that could replenish batteries to provide homeowners with an independent source of power, and he teamed up with his friend Henry Ford to develop an electric car that would run on rechargeable batteries. He saw electric cars as a cleaner alternative for moving people in smoke-filled cities. Most of all, Edison’s keen mind and insatiable curiosity kept him thinking and experimenting throughout his long life- and renewable energy was one of his favorite topics. He had a deep respect for nature and loathed damage made to it. He was a renown vegetarian, extending his non-violence values to animals.   Edison Favored Renewable Energy Over Fossil Fuels Thomas Edison knew that fossil fuels such as oil and coal were not ideal power sources. He was very aware of the air pollution problems fossil fuels created, and he recognized that those resources were not infinite, shortages would become a problem in the future. He saw the virtually untapped potential of renewable energy sources- such as wind power and solar power- that could be harnessed and put to work for the benefit of mankind. In 1931, the same year he died, Edison confided his concerns to  his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, who by then were retirement neighbors in Florida: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using natures inexhaustible sources of energy - sun, wind,  and tide. I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.† Edited by Frederic Beaudry

Negligent Security & Premises Liability Research Paper

Negligent Security & Premises Liability - Research Paper Example The researcher states that unlike many laws that are enforced uniformly across the United States, premises liability law can differ from state to state. As an example, consider the scenario of an individual visiting an apartment and injuring themselves there. In some states, the owners of the apartment building would be liable for the injury; however, in other states, the tenant of the apartment where the injury occurred would be liable for the injury. Therefore, as described in the example, the law of premises liability can be enforced differently depending on the laws of the state involved. As indicated by the classic elements of premises liability, the plaintiff had to be an invitee or licensee in order to hold a landowner liable for a tort that occurs while the plaintiff is on the premises. A 1968 California Supreme Court decision, however, removed the legal distinction between an invitee, licensee, and trespasser when deciding if the possessor of the land could be held liable fo r harm that occurs on the premises and held that a landowner owed a reasonable duty of care to anyone on their premises. This decision held that a possessor of land could be held liable for harm that occurs on their property, even if the harm is to a trespasser or an individual that was not invited and should not be on the premises. Attractive Nuisance Doctrine The 1971 case Haddad v. First National Stores, Inc. established the standard for the duty of care owed to trespassing children. Previously the duty  of a landowner owed to trespassers was not to harm them in a willful or wanton manner; however, the Haddad decision changed this standard and added a special duty of care with regard to children. The court adopted the attractive nuisance doctrine which makes a landowner liable if the plaintiff can prove: 1) the owner knows, or has reason to know, that children are likely to trespass where the condition exists; 2) the condition is one which the landowner knows and realizes, or h as reason to know and realize, involves an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to such children; 3) the child does not realize the risk or danger involved; 4) the utility to the landowner of maintaining the condition is slight compared to the risk to children; and, 5) the landowner fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise protect the children. Even though the case established the attractive nuisance doctrine, it is difficult for both a plaintiff and defendant to be involved in any case based on this doctrine. Another development in the premises liability law relates to the element of the law regarding the necessity of negligence or some other wrongful act. â€Å"Third party premises liability† cases refer to cases where the possessor or owner of a property can be held liable for injury or harm that occurs on the premises but is the result of a wrongful act of a third person and not the possessor of the property. The issues of duty and ca usation are complex in these cases since the injury is not caused by the possessor of the premises directly, but still may be the liability of the owner or possessor of the premises.

Promotion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Promotion - Research Paper Example According to present company management, it is essential to have a unique selling price market promotion to ensure that the company has a difference with the rest. Promotion is inclusive in marketing and is believed to play the part of a marketing investment that is excessively essential in businesses (Gordob, 2010). Over the years, phone manufacturers have had to deal with wireless carriers so that they can have adequate access to their networks. This is the reason most phone companies have their prices dictated by the same carriers mentioned above. High pricing caused people to find other services that can be used in place of the phones. As the struggle went on, different manufacturers, Verizon included, have used the technological ideas currently flooding the markets and have come up with the models that have been used to end the struggle. According to latest statistics, world mobile users have greatly increased such that they have surpassed internet users. It has been stipulated that more than forty five million people use smartphones. Additionally, more cell phone producing companies have joined the markets hence the stiff competition for clients. However, statistics show that Verizon has acquired success in the markets through the various promotions done continually. The fact that almost everyone owns a phone can be attributed to the high quality advertising strategies in the present world (Newton, 2009). This increase in the numbers of the mobile users has offered promoters hope that the market will soon become phenomenal. In the act of promoting mobile phones, it is essential to understand that most people typically are attached to them. For this reason, the more features a mobile phone offers the better and the more its promotion will result to the company’s prospected success. Verizon has conducted enough research on characterized customer satisfaction, customer research, and products use, but seem to have forgotten to question directly from th e customer of their expectations. This is the reason there models seem to have similar applications despite the diverse shapes of the cell phone bodies. The Verizon promoters need to realize that their aim is to satisfy the needs of their customers as they make extremely large amounts of money. In my opinion, the customers’ demands have not yet been reached despite having new models of phones in the market (Saulimen, 2011). Verizon Company has also realized this and is tirelessly trying to incorporate the client’s wishes in their newest models. This is since most individuals attempt keeping their phones with them and can aspire to have the phones assist them in doing almost all of their activities. Take for instance, the Verizon’s smart phones that have greatly broken into the market. They have a lot of applications favoring some people in the community but for those who would like to use programs, they cannot do it via their phones. A company that can break int o the market with such a marketable plan can greatly make profits as well as offer mobile phones with some programs. As stated above, technology improvements have caused great changes in the mobile phone market. For instance, the types of phone currently produced are technologically advanced although not to the expected standards. All companies dealing with the production of mobile phones seem to use

Gendering Social Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gendering Social Work - Essay Example As a social worker, it is my duty to extend maximum possible help to Iona. The needs of the older people are often neglected by the societies all over the world and UK is also not an exception. Most of the societies look seriously at the needs of the younger generation because of the possible contribution the society may receive from younger people in future. For example, child health and education are some of the major areas in which the society has no hesitancy to spend more. On the other hand, the needs of the older generation are often neglected by the society because of the concerns about the spending in non-productive sector. Older people have already contributed heavily to the society and it is ethically wrong to neglect them when they need the social support badly. â€Å"Social workers cannot avoid the contradictory nature of their role but sometimes they need to take a stand and show which side they are on† (Searing, 2008). The need of Iona for a sexual relationship even at the age of 82 is difficult for me to digest. But as a social worker, I cannot keep a hatred feeling towards Iona as my primary aim is to help Iona in all possible means. Probably the desire put forward by Iona cannot be fulfilled and it is not my duty to help her in this regard. But, I should accept the fact that different people may have different needs irrespective of their age and they have every right to follow their life philosophies. Dench et al (2006) have argued that the culture of entitlement in contemporary Britain may itself need to be reconsidered if further breakdown of order is to be avoided. Not only it is working against the legitimacy of the welfare state, but it may be working against the integrity of the society (Dench et al 2006 p.7). The culture and life philosophies are changing day by day based on the advancements in thinking, life styles. It is difficult for the current generation to follow the traditions, customs

Bioethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bioethics - Term Paper Example Critical thinking can help someone to evaluate himself or herself in the wake to self-realization. Every person is different from the other. There is a unique feature in every person that differentiate him or her from the rest in the society. This uniqueness is the one that can be used to define who a person is and how he or she can live and behave in order to achieve the desired goal in the future. Human beings today are largely shaped by the evolving technology. The technology have been growing every day, and people have appreciated it and used it to enhance their living. Enhancement entails the increase in the life of the people. Enhancement does not only lead to positive transformation of ethics. It has also led to the deterioration of the values considered good in the societal realm. Since the development of technology is global, it have led to the creation of a global village. It has become very easy for a person in one point of the world to communicate with another person in another point, many miles apart, at an affordable price (Cliteur). It therefore implies that people no longer need to travel from one country to another so that they can engage in a conversation. The only thing they need to have is a device for communication. Considering the advancement in technology, the sharing of information have been made easier and increased. Both the scientific innovations and culture can now be transferred from one place to the other, regardless of which continent the parties are. Culture has been prominently transferred from one community to the other. Given that culture is very detrimental in the observing of ethics, the change in culture then implies the change in ethics. People have a tendency of being a victim of influences. The technology have influenced a lot of people in many rounds. They have opted to imitate other people’s cultures. When put in an example, most of the African countries have adopted a lot of the Western culture. For example,

Business law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Business law - Case Study Example The respondents was one of the growers who filed a representative suit claiming breach of clause 7.4 contract and sought damages arising out that breach. The Court of first instance heard the case in two separate hearings. The first one dealt particularly with the rule of construction as applied to the disputed clause but also extended in the second hearing. The Judge held that the clause meant offering to growers’ first priority in growing chicks in preference to third parties. The second part of hearing specifically dealt with breach and the implied term of the contract by interpreting the clause on reasonable and equitable grounds. The Judge held in favour of the growers’ that there was breach of the clause and that the growers’ had the capacity to do so, hence the appeal. The Court of appeal reversed that judgment stating that the word capacity related to the appellant’s business growth and not capacity to rear chicken. It gave wide discretion to the a ppellants to contract third parties. Other standard clauses of the contract touching the case at hand included but not limited to the general clause 2, giving an over view that the growers were to provide â€Å"sealable birds† from any farm location ready to be picked and processed by the appellants. It also defined the payment terms. Clause 5 dealt with appellants delivering chicks to growers’ in unspecified quantity but the growers’ had to be notified of that delivery upon picking. The appellants remained the owner of the birds. Clause 7 set out the fundamental obligations of the appellants including providing assistance for â€Å"extra shed capacity† to growers equitably. Clause 8 stated the obligations of the growers’ such as keeping the shed in minimum standard conditions of not less than â€Å"$40 per square meter of shed floor space† and allowing access to that shed by appellants. Clause 12 dealt with the manner of collection of birds from the firm by the appellants. Clause 14 was on payments and notifying the growers’ about it upon collection of birds. Clause 20 was on the five years duration of the contract including termination of the contract if the processing plant was closed. Clause 25 provided for substantial amendment of the contract in writing. and all the above accounts for the case at hand. Case law governing the rule of Construction (b) This is predominantly based on clause 7.4 which according to the Court of first instance gave preference to growers’ as the first people to be offered the opportunity of rearing more chicken unless they are unable to do so. In other words, the appellant were in breach of this fundamental condition by offering such opportunity to third parties at the detriment of growers’. However, the appellate Court differed from the above ratio decidendi stating that Jagot, J did not establish whether the growers’ had capacity to rear more chicks at the t ime, the appellants were allocating the chicks to third parties. Their Lordships made reference to the objective principle enunciated in the case of â€Å"Pacific Carriers Ltd v BNP Pariba†1 to the extent that Court must ascertain the intention of parties by subjecting the clause to the test of a reasonable man in ordinary and plain interpretation.2 That in doing so the Court should not rewrite the clause for that would be interfering with the freedom of contract3 hence causing injustice as upheld in â€Å"

Transition Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Transition - Case Study Example It is often observed that disable students are more likely to drop out of their high schools than normal people among the general masses. Almost 36% of disable students usually leave their high schools before graduation and fail to experience the core values and principles of learning hence failing to obtain the knowledge normal people pertain to. This figure slightly varies in urban, suburban and rural areas and it is due to this that they fail to acquire the required coursework hence making them lag behind in the employment areas. 79% of normal students, i.e. students without disabilities are employed in reputable organizations soon after their graduation whereas a general trend that is observed in disable students is that they do not opt for employment after graduating and rather choose to stay home for at least four five years. The fact that they are not exposed to the work environment at the right time makes them less competent at the corporate level. Owing to the factors explai ned above, disable students and particularly those with multiple impairments and health issues feel themselves isolated from their social network and claim to suffer to a great deal due to this.

Business law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Business law - Case Study Example The respondents was one of the growers who filed a representative suit claiming breach of clause 7.4 contract and sought damages arising out that breach. The Court of first instance heard the case in two separate hearings. The first one dealt particularly with the rule of construction as applied to the disputed clause but also extended in the second hearing. The Judge held that the clause meant offering to growers’ first priority in growing chicks in preference to third parties. The second part of hearing specifically dealt with breach and the implied term of the contract by interpreting the clause on reasonable and equitable grounds. The Judge held in favour of the growers’ that there was breach of the clause and that the growers’ had the capacity to do so, hence the appeal. The Court of appeal reversed that judgment stating that the word capacity related to the appellant’s business growth and not capacity to rear chicken. It gave wide discretion to the a ppellants to contract third parties. Other standard clauses of the contract touching the case at hand included but not limited to the general clause 2, giving an over view that the growers were to provide â€Å"sealable birds† from any farm location ready to be picked and processed by the appellants. It also defined the payment terms. Clause 5 dealt with appellants delivering chicks to growers’ in unspecified quantity but the growers’ had to be notified of that delivery upon picking. The appellants remained the owner of the birds. Clause 7 set out the fundamental obligations of the appellants including providing assistance for â€Å"extra shed capacity† to growers equitably. Clause 8 stated the obligations of the growers’ such as keeping the shed in minimum standard conditions of not less than â€Å"$40 per square meter of shed floor space† and allowing access to that shed by appellants. Clause 12 dealt with the manner of collection of birds from the firm by the appellants. Clause 14 was on payments and notifying the growers’ about it upon collection of birds. Clause 20 was on the five years duration of the contract including termination of the contract if the processing plant was closed. Clause 25 provided for substantial amendment of the contract in writing. and all the above accounts for the case at hand. Case law governing the rule of Construction (b) This is predominantly based on clause 7.4 which according to the Court of first instance gave preference to growers’ as the first people to be offered the opportunity of rearing more chicken unless they are unable to do so. In other words, the appellant were in breach of this fundamental condition by offering such opportunity to third parties at the detriment of growers’. However, the appellate Court differed from the above ratio decidendi stating that Jagot, J did not establish whether the growers’ had capacity to rear more chicks at the t ime, the appellants were allocating the chicks to third parties. Their Lordships made reference to the objective principle enunciated in the case of â€Å"Pacific Carriers Ltd v BNP Pariba†1 to the extent that Court must ascertain the intention of parties by subjecting the clause to the test of a reasonable man in ordinary and plain interpretation.2 That in doing so the Court should not rewrite the clause for that would be interfering with the freedom of contract3 hence causing injustice as upheld in â€Å"

Marketing Report and research (mobile phones) Paper

Marketing Report and (mobile phones) - Research Paper Example For the primary data gathering and analysis, a questionnaire was designed and survey conducted. The data gathered from the survey was then analysed. From the analysis it was derived that a mobile phone which includes computing as well and is priced low is the need of the hour, mainly for foreign nationals residing in Australia. To further strengthen this conclusion, industry/ competitor’s analysis and PESTL was also done. The above mentioned analysis also yielded favourable results. The next step was to work on the SWOT of the organization and decide the marketing mix. It is found that organization is strong in technology and pricing but suffers from the lack of a brand image as of now. To overcome this brand positioning was also decided. Main challenge that confronted the students, while preparing this report, was during the primary research phase. Seeking cooperation, from what constituted the sample, and urging them to give correct answers to the questions was time intensive exercise. Nevertheless, it definitely enabled the students to realize the hard ground realities. It gave a feel of what real marketing is like and was definitely an enjoyable experience inspite of all the hardships. After going through the process of new product conceptualization and development, it is realized that launching a multi technology device (MTD) for foreign nationals residing in Australia would be profitable venture. MTD is a combination of mobile phone and computing technologies. As per the forecast on the basis of past trends in the Australian telecom industry at least 35% international students, 30% households and atleast 10% of the 18-65 age bracket people would purchase the MTD. Since SWOT, PESTL, primary research and secondary research all point to the viability of the project, it is recommended to go ahead with the new product concept of launching the mobile phone based on the research undertaken by the students. The

Chandler Health Strategy 2015-17

Chandler Health Strategy 2015-17 CHANDLER HEALTH  STRATEGY FOR 2015-2017 INTRODUCTION With the voyage of time, the need of quality and prompt healthcare services has become unevitable asset in the heathcare system. Chandler health, a non profit organsisation, is equipped with highly qualified and adroit healthcare manpower, devoted to deliver the finest services regarding acute, community and elderly healthcare as per the necessity and demand of the general peblians. This document outlines the three years strategy that has been considered by the chandler health to achieve the odjectives set by the organisation and establish organisation as a one of the finest healthcare organisation to deliver prompt and apt care and faclity to the consumers. MOTO: â€Å"OUR ENDEAVOUR IS TO MAKE YOU FELL BETTER.† GOAL To bolster adroit manpower and work as a unit to deliver excellent health services. In the healthcare system, teamwork has been a major focus in the longevity of the organisation. Involvements of healthcare worker are pillars for the establishment of healthcare organisation. And in additions administrative staff and stakeholders also play a significant and symbiotic role in the betterment of the organisation. Potent collaboration between the manpower, respect and understanding and communication in a healthcare certainly boosts the quality of patient care and furthermore curtails the adversity in the healthcare and reduces physical and mental stress among the healthcare professions. OBJECTIVE ACTION CHALLENGES Build and expand health care workforce Recruitment of qualified staff. Orientation of job and accountability. Provide training if necessary. Time consuming phenomenon and economically expensive. Some applicant may have negative interpretation about organisation so leads to loss of adroit manpower Construct a team as per the requirement of organisation Create team as soon as possible for better mutual understanding within the team members. Selection must be done on the basic of capacity expertise and knowledge embodied by the individuals. Some individual savour isolation and do better without a team effort. Conflict to represent a team leader may arise. Establish collaborative team work between workers and appreciate the team effort. Actuate all the team members to work as team and understand, respect and communicate each other for the betterment of the organisation. Unwillingness of some of the team member to work as a team and share ideas and skills. Misunderstanding between the team members due to poor communication. Enhancement of dexterity and knowledge within the staff Funding in educational opportunity. Update with the current health services and technology. Provide training and professional opportunity. Hesitation of the staff to cope with new technology and health related issues, especially aged staffs. Due to lucrative nature of health organisation skilled staff may leave work for other opportunity. Transparency within workforce Establish robust harmony between the clinical and non-clinical faculty. Conflict within the workers With the establishment of objectives, it is obligatory the measure whether the objective and action deployed by the organisation has been successful or lagging behind. Measurement can be achieved by evaluation of team, accomplishment of team, conducting a query within the workers and obtain a feedback from the staff about the team and pros and cons of the team strategy. And furthermore a meeting can be organized to understand and discuss about the challenges prefaced by the staff, outcome of the strategy and enlighten flaws and weakness of team, that need to be amended for the healthcare organisation to thrive and sustain in this lucrative world. Framework for the implementation of strategy Strategy, ironically, is a tool through which an organisation meets the vision and objectives allocated and further enable an organisation to elect the appropriate pathway and proper action to determine the future of the health organisaton in a limited time frame (Morden 2007). As strategies are meant to achieve in a certain time frame, proper planning, establishment of priorities and development of strategic framework is mandatory for the better progress, outcomes and longevity of Chandler Health organisation. The chief executive officer (CEO) of chandler health organisation has the major accountability to provide a specific and precise direction and motivation to the staff to achieve the goals within the limited time frame. CEO further invents a methodical and structured plan or strategy to meet the objective and vision of the organisation within three years (Stephen Barnwell 2007).The major strategic framework of Chandler Health organisation includes, Understand the need of the consumers and establish customer–centered care. Consultation with the stakeholders of Chandler health Organisation. Formulation of committee. Establish transparency within the staff of the organisation. Evaluation of the strategy. 1 Understand the need of consumer and establish customer-centered care Understanding the basic need and necessity of the consumers and establishment of consumer centered care within the community is the major aim of Chandler Health organisation (Constand et al. 2014). The organisation firmly asserts that establishment of consumer centered care not only recuperate illness and tribulation of the consumers, outstanding health consequences, better consumers satisfaction and lessen health expenses (Freeman 2003), it also envelop the mitigating partnership, profound communication and faith between the consumers and provider (Epstein et al. 2009). Pay attention to the opinion of the consumers, enhancing effective communication with the consumers, review the consumers’ feedback about the services delivered by the organsation and to meet the expectation and trust of the consumers (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008) are the major action considered by the organsation to attend superlative consumer centered care. And in addition Candler Health actuate all the staf f and faculty members to respect single consumer and savour diversities. And further assures that existence of poise between the patients centered care delivery and racial, ethnic and socio-cultural value, as organisation believes that lack of disparities in delivering patient care ministers to attend quality of healthcare services and facilities for every consumer (Johnson et al. 2004). 2. Consulting with the shareholders of Chandler Health Organisation Implementation of strategy, constructing a framework and to make a precise and accurate decision is simply impossible without the involvement of stakeholders, as all the financial activity for instant funding, and decision making are achieved through stakeholders. By and large, stakeholder has a significant and crucial involvement in formidable outcome of the organisation. Chandler Health firmly understands the importance of the presence of stakeholders in the planning and plotting for the establishment of effective strategic framework in a limited lapse of time. Primary step needed to be considered before consultation with the stakeholders is to identify the stakeholders of the organisation (Wood et al. 2012). Indeed, there is no apt definition of the stakeholders. Stakeholders could be people and any institution, funding and assisting the organisation relating internally or externally (Morden 2007). After the completion of identification procedure, classification of stakeholders is obligatory. Basically stakeholders can be categorise as Internal stakeholders Internal stakeholders represent the manpower employed by the organisation and work within the circumference of organisaton. The internal stakeholders embodies owners, CEO, the board of directors, shareholders, shareholders family, trust members and all the non clinical staffs and clinical staffs Including General Practitioners, Nurses, and all the allied health professions (Mordern 2007; Freemam 2010). External Stakeholders External stakeholders represent people or professional institution living outside the boundary of organisation ministering the organisation in decision making or providing moral support for the progress and welfare of the organisation. Immediate external stakeholders are customers and family member of the consumers and other external stakeholder comprises of, professional bodies, regulatory institutions, community, social services agency and government representative at local, regional and state level capable to clout the board regulation and legislation (Mordern 2007; Freeman 2010) Chandler health organisation also implement a stakeholder crosswalk , constructed mainly to consider appropriate stakeholders in decision making in a peculiar area of expertise and in appropriate time (Eveleigh et al 2012). And finally Chandler health is committed to create stakeholder network map and maintain robust relationship and ambience among the stakeholders (Wood et al. 2012). 3. Formulation of committee After planning of strategy, it is a herculean task to implement, manage and maintain the strategy. A team is needed to create to implement and maintain the efficacy of the strategy. Establishment of strategic committee is extremely important for the betterment of organisation. Chandler health would select the members in the strategic on basic of interest and expertise in the relevant field so that skills and knowledge embedded within the committee members could be utilised for providing the apt direction in decision making (Jeffrey, April Daniel, 2003). Chandler Heath is committed to involve top level managers, middle managers, frontline supervisors (Hoon 2007),shareholders, individuals with professional dexterities, and other internal as well as external stakeholders (Jeffrey, April Daniel, 2003; Swayne, Duncan Ginter 2013). And further organisation would create strategic management community and strategic operating committee (Steiner). Strategic management committee comprises of top management, shareholders and other important board members, providing recommendation and pathway to operating committee (Steiner). And Operating committee include middle managers and other frontline supervisors implementing all the action need to be achieved in limited time zone (Steiner). And finally, Chandler health assures that there exist a healthy and harmonious interaction and relationship among the individual within the strategic community and act as a unit. 4. Establish transparency within the staff of the organisation. For the effective execution of strategy, each and every individual employed within the organisation must be conscious and have a profound insight about the vision, mission, values and aim of the strategy. As transparency within the staff is the major value of Chandler health, organisation is committed to provide a level of transparency with the staff so that there is better exchange and sharing of ideas, expansion of innovative insight, critical investigation and give and take discussion (Swayne, Ducan Ginter 2013; Davis 2014). Communication undoubtable plays a vital role in the delivery of the information. In order to enhance effectiveness of strategy and to minimise errors, Chandler Health has formulated an efficient communicating strategy (Mortenius et al. 2011; Davis 2014). And further on organisation has focused to allot simple, transparent, accurate and understandable format and means of communication to employees as incomplete, complex communication misguide the staff from the goals of the organisation. Chandler Health organisation has introduced three major communication pathways; oral, written and Electronic pathways (Mortenius et al. 2011). Oral Pathway: Meeting, Seminar, workshops and training Written Pathway: Newspaper, Organisation magazine and broachers, reports, researches and bulletins Electronic Pathway: E-mails, official websites and other visuals means. On the other hand, chandler Health actuate all the core member of the organisation and employee to be expressive and receptive while communicating and respect individuals (Davis 2104) and planning to introduce â€Å"SBAR (Situation-Background- Assessment- Recommendation)† (Davis 2014) â€Å"a system of communicating crucial and cardinal information requiring prompt decision and operation. 5. Evaluation of strategy Evaluation of the strategy is the major phenomenon to measure the progress of the organisation (Pumet). Chandler Health organisation is obligated to conduct; â€Å"Customer experience online survey system† (Forest Research 2007) and collect all the feedback from the customers about the facilities and healthcare delivered by the organisation, as Chandler health believe in customer centricity which not only refines healthcare and services but also motivates to meet the appetite and intention of the consumers (Lutz 2008). â€Å"Balance score sheet† that measures the outcome of four field of organisation; relationship with consumers, interpersonal relation, values of organisation, and financial structure of organisation (Braam Nijssen 2004). Annual meeting of the all the stakeholders including staffs of the chandler health organisation and discuss about the feedback, issues and hardship induces in the implementation and action process of the strategy. Identify the flaws of strategy through discussion and amend it in future. References Lutz, S. 2008, A Strange Fit for a King: A Customer Experience Framework, Consumer-Driven Healthcare, vol. 53, pp. 356-9 Rumelt, R.P., Evaluation of strategy: Theroy and Models, pp. 196-217. Forrester Research 2007, North American Technographics ® Customer Experience Online Survey,Cambridge, MA. PricncewaterhouseCoopers 2008,How Consumer conversation will Transform Business, 10/01/2008,www.pwc.com/extweb/pwpublications.nsf/docid/452132E0E4043D6E852573D9005BF037>. Braam, G.J.M. Nijssen, E.J. 2004,Performance effetcs of using the Blance Scoresheet on the Dutch experience,LongRange Planning,vol 37,no. 4,pp. 335-349. Epstein, R.M., Fiscella, K., Lesser, C.S. Stange, K.C. 2009, Why The Nation Needs A Policy Push On Patient-Centered Health Care, Health Affairs, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1429-95. Davis, A. 2014, Core Communication Competencies in Patient-Centered Care, ABNF Journal, pp. 40-45. Freeman, R. E. 2010, Strategic management: A stakeholder approach, Cambridge University Press,United Kingdom. Morden, T. 2007Principles of Strategic Management,3rd edition, Ashgate. Mortenius, H., Maklund, B., Palm, L., Fridlund, B. Baigi, A. 2011, The utilisation of knowledge of and interest in research and development amnong primary care staff by means of stratgic communication-a staff cohort study., Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, vol. 18, pp. 768-75. Swayne, L.E., Duncan, W.J. Ginter, P.M. 2012,Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations, 6thedn, John Wiley Sons Ltd, USA. Steiner, G.A.,Strategic Planning What Every Manager Must Know,A Division of Simons Schuster Inc.1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York. Hoon, C. 2007, Committees as strategic practice: The role of strategic conversation in a public administration., Human Relations, vol. 60, no. 6, pp. 921-51. Jeffrey, L.C., April, K. Daniel, T. 2003, Board Composition, Committees, and Organizational Efficiency: The Case of Nonprofits, Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 4, p. 493. Wood, J., Sarkani, S., Mazzuchi, T. Eveleigh, T. 2013, A framework for capturing the hidden stakeholder system, Systems Engineering, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 251-66. Johnson, R.L., Saha, S., Arbelaez, J.J., Beach, M.C. Cooper, L.A. 2004, ORIGINAL ARTICLES Racial and Ethnic Differences in Patient Perceptions of Bias and Cultural Competence in Health Care, JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 101-10. Constand, M.K., MacDermid, J.C., Bello-Haas, V.D. Law, M. 2014, Scoping review of patient-centered care approaches in healthcare, BMC Health Services Research, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 572-92. Stephen, R. BArnwell, N. 2007,Organisational Theory Concepts and Cases,5th edn, Pearson Education Australia.

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay -- FDR American President

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (1882-1945), 32nd of the United States. Roosevelt became president in March 1933 at the depth of the Great Depression, was reelected for an unprecedented three more terms, and died in office in April 1945, less than a month before the surrender of Germany in World War II. Despite an attack of poliomyelitis, which paralyzed his legs in 1921, he was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the American people during the strains of economic crisis and world war. He was one of America's most controversial leaders. Conservatives claimed that he undermined states' rights and individual liberty. Though Roosevelt labored hard to end the Depression, he had limited success. It was not until 1939 and 1940, with the onset of heavy defense spending before World War II, that prosperity returned. Roosevelt also displayed limitations in his handling of foreign policy. In the 1930's he was slow to warn against the menace of fascism, and during the war he relied too heavily on his charm and personality in the conduct of diplomacy. Still, Roosevelt's historical reputation is deservedly high. In attacking the Great Depression he did much to develop a partial welfare state in the United States and to make the federal government an agent of social and economic reform. His administration indirectly encouraged the rise of organized labor and greatly invigorated the . His foreign policies, while occasionally devious, were shrewd enough to sustain domestic unity and the allied coalition in World War II. Roosevelt was a president of stature. The future president was born on Jan. 30, 1882, at the family estate in Hyde Park, N.Y. His father, James (1828-1900), was descended from Nicholas Roosevelt, whose father had emigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam in the 1640's. One of Nicholas' two sons, Johannes, fathered the line that ultimately produced President Theodore Roosevelt. The other son, Jacobus, was James' great-great-grandfather. James graduated from Union College (1847) and Harvard Law School, married, had a son, and took over his family's extensive holdings in coal and transportation. Despite substantial losses in speculative ventures, he remained wealthy enough to journey by private railroad car, to live graciously on his Hudson River estate at Hyde Park, and to travel extensively. Four yea... ...nd front greatly intensified Soviet suspicions of the West. But it is easy to second-guess and to exaggerate Roosevelt's failings as a military leader. The president neither invited nor welcomed the Pearl Harbor attack, which was a brilliantly planned maneuver by Japan. He worked with Darlan in the hope of preventing unnecessary loss of Allied lives. Unconditional surrender, given American anger at the enemy, was a politically logical policy. It also proved reassuring to the Soviet Union, which had feared a separate German-American peace. Establishing the second front required control of the air and large supplies of landing craft, and these were not assured until 1944. In many of these decisions Roosevelt acted in characteristically pragmatic fashion--to win the war as effectively as possible and to keep the wartime alliance together. In these aims he was successful. By 1945, Roosevelt was 63 years old. The events early in that year added to the strains on his heart, and on April 12, 1945, he died suddenly at Warm Springs, Ga. Three days later he was buried at Hyde Park. Despite his limitations, he had been a strong, decent, and highly popular president for more than 12 years.

A Proper Victorian Marriage Proposal Essay -- Victorian Era

A Proper Marriage Proposal Mr. Bradley Headstone, steadfast and uncontrolled, was met with denial from his beloved. By examining the etiquette apropos of an acceptable Victorian marriage proposal, and the social â€Å"rules† associated with courtship, we may understand the failure of Headstone’s hasty attempt at love. A Note on Love, and Falling â€Å"Love,† and the expression of it, in the Victorian Era was characterized by strict social etiquette and idealized expectations. Courtship was fundamental to the process of falling in love, and in fact, for the upper and middle classes, it was this systematic structure that allowed for the love and union of two people to be acceptable. A member of society could not fall into a fit of passion for another, express it freely, and expect an agreeable response. There was an admirable and proper way for a man to attain a wife. In general, for Victorians, the process of falling in love by means of courtship was a pleasant process if the proper measures of propriety were taken. Pre-Proposal Matters A gentleman, upon determining a marriage prospect, bears in mind several key features that constitute an ideal lady and wife. For the â€Å"stream of matrimony† to be ventured upon, an essential partner must possess these qualities- accomplished manners, be an amiable person, have an unblemished reputation, and â€Å"a mind stored with virtuous principles† (Lessels 25). Once this is determined and he feels love for the woman, the gentleman decides to proceed with the proposal process. The most important thing for a gentleman to do, once he has chosen a prospect, is to allow himself to reveal to the lady his character. â€Å"Some men†¦may have all the traits of a gentleman- a handsome exterior, and well skilled ... ...ue of monetary standing also comes into play after the proposal. In the dealings of settling the family’s and the upcoming couple’s finances, â€Å"let candor and generosity actuate you in this difficult transaction† (48). The Victorians allowed even love to be dictated by strict social order and control. However, it was still idealized as a blissful and ultimate convention. If all matters of propriety were considered, and if all is executed accordingly, â€Å"we will assume these rocks and quicksands past, the engaged couple happy, and the wedding day at hand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Humphry 110). Works Cited Hill, Averyl. Averyl’s Attic. Averyl's Attic Design, Images & Text. 16 Mar 2005. . Humphry, Mrs. Manners for Men. London: Pryor Publications, 1993. Lessels, Julie. The Etiquette of Love and Courtship. Sussex: Copper Beech Publishing, 1995.

Generation Gap Essay

Generation gap can be defined as an opposed division between younger people and older ones. It can be perceived in cultural as well as political fields of society nowadays. Nevertheless, the differences may begin to be bridged in diverse ways within those main fields. On one hand, the existence of clear contrasts between generations as language, fashion and art values may be easily appreciated in the Media, even the streets with graffiti and all kind of artistic works. What are well known among youngsters are the wide variety of codes they are able to create and manage, like the linguistic codes; the clothes they choose to design and wear and even the music they play and listen to, which are changing constantly in order to make adult people feel away from their own matters. In addition, it seems that revolution is an irreplaceable subject kept alive by young people exclusively. What they think is that their ideas are the best ones for he World’s welfare, especially in the political and social fields. On the other hand, this distance between generations has existed since Ancient times when the elder people ruled all the societies and they were respected and even worshipped in several cases like the Greek and Romans civilizations. It seems that at present times, old people are sent to places of retirement and it may difficult and in the worst situation, impossible to participate in society decisions at all. Nevertheless, what Globalization cannot change nowadays are values. They have never been altered like love, solidarity, wisdom and common sense and they would be thought as bridges between distant generations. In conclusion, the generation gap may produce some misunderstandings in numerous senses whereas it will exist as part of evolution of human beings. However, it would seem to be a challenge to create new bridges to connect both sides through common cultural and political devices.

Barbie, If Looks Could Kill

Hannah Mekeel Pg1 Barbie: If Looks Could Kill Almost every American girl desires a Barbie at some point, for the chance to vicariously live her fabulous life. The average girl from ages 3-11 owns upwards of 10 Barbie dolls throughout her childhood, with hours on end spent exploring a Pepto-Bismol colored world, where Barbie has any dream job. For 53 years, Barbie has been an American standard of beautiful. With her leggy, busty figure and unattainable body measurements, neatly wrapped in pink packaging and a sunny disposition, Barbie has had over 80 careers, ranging from the President to a McDonalds’ cashier.When she’s not teaching or fighting fires, she still manages to maintain her Barbie dreamhouse, her body, and her dreamboat of a boyfriend, Ken. In the world of Barbie, a girl can have it all! But not all is sunny in paradise since the emergence of a Barbie backlash, as parents and child development experts begin to see the possible connections between young girls w ho play with Barbie’s and adult woman with body issues or eating disorders. The question becomes; What are these toys teaching young girls about their bodies, their gender, and their role in society? Is the character that has become Barbie a role model for all women can achieve?Or, have Barbie been teaching young girls that the perfect, attractive, and socially valuable woman is thin, always glamorous, always happy, and always silent? Since Barbie was first debut in 1959, she seemed to be a picture perfect role model for middle class, American girls. She was perfectly thin, had a perfect family, perfect hair, perfect car and house. Yet how was this image of a perfect woman affecting the millions of young girls who were playing with her? Some would argue that Barbie’s thin, but busty and hippy figure, instill in young woman an idea of the perfect body, desired by men and envied by other women, Mekeel Pg 2 ll the while, completely unattainable. â€Å"If Barbie were an a ctual woman, she would be 5'9†³ tall, have a 39†³ bust, an 18†³ waist, 33†³ hips and a size 3 shoe,† Slayen wrote in the Huffington . â€Å"She likely would not menstruate†¦ she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions. † (Katz). Many women admit they started worrying about their weight when they were between the age of 4 and six years old, and many of the girls who have or had an eating disorder admitted that Barbie played a huge role in influencing their attitudes toward their bodies.Barbie led young girls to believe, if you want Barbie’s fabulous life, you have to also look â€Å"fabulous†. During the formative ages of 4-6, right about the time young girls receive their first Barbie, they really begin to absorb the social standards around them, and the 1961 gem, â€Å"Slumber Party Barbie†, could not have been a positive influence on young girls. â€Å"Slumber Party Barbie† came equipped with a book title d How to Lose Weight , which offered advice like â€Å"don’t eat,† and a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs. Slumber Party Barbie† is something no good parent would expose their young, impressionable daughter to, and something Mattel wouldn’t even attempt 40 years later. Mattel has had its missteps in the last 20 years, putting feminist across the country up in arms with the 1992 flop â€Å"Teen Talk Barbie†, who famously proclaims that â€Å"math class is tough†. Sure, math class is tough, but shouldn’t Barbie be reiterating to girls that math is essential, especially if you want to be just like Barbie and grow up to be a doctor, scientist, astronaut, or whatever you want. Mattel wasted no time silencing their quintessential bimbo following the backlash. Borger). Another major flaw in Barbie portrayed values is her desire for material wealth. Barbie has everything, but it wasn’t always that way. Barbie came from humble b eginnings, dressed like Mekeel Pg 3 a typical white, middle-class female of the 1960’s. She continued to evolve into mod Barbie, disco Barbie, and by the 1980s â€Å"she had the taste of a lottery winner,† says M. G. Lord, author of Forever Barbie. â€Å"At the core of this change is class. † (Borger). Barbie suddenly had a dreamhouse mansion, a convertible sports car, and in more recent years, began wearing designer duds from the likes of Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, and Bob Mackie.Barbie advocates stress that the problem doesn’t lay in Barbie’s appearance, or even her values, but with our perceptions of a doll. After all, Barbie is an inanimate object, something that living women shouldn’t compare themselves to. If Barbie were real she would likely be divorced from Ken and in debt up to her eyes after remortgaging her dreamhouse, but she’s not real. She is a fantasy, which little boys and girls can use when flexing their imaginatio ns to develop a whole world and life for Barbie, as they would see it. It’s the ability to make Barbie into anything they want that makes her so appealing to children. We are in danger of looking at a child's toy through an adult's microscope and, of course, seeing all the wrong things. To a child she.. never says she can't play with you, always smiles, will accompany her owner everywhere, and never shouts. Onto her can be projected wishes and dreams. †(Russel) Barbie has also taken the form of many positively influential female role models like Jackie Onassis Kennedy or Olympic athletes. Having experienced first-hand, amongst girls my age, the damages of low self-esteem and a poor body image, I find it hard to believe that Barbie has played no role in damaging females.Though a six year old might not process the impact at the time, subconsciously she carries the effects of Barbie’s image with her for the rest of her life, affecting the way she sees Mekeel Pg 4 he rself and women around her. Sure, Barbie encourages young girl to be whatever they want to be, but only if you’re beautiful. With doll collecting being the second most popular hobby, to stamp collecting, and Barbie being a $1. 5 billion dollar industry, she’s not going anywhere soon. It is a parent’s responsibility to choose their children’s toys wisely, considering how it might impact them.If nothing else, parents should be present in their daughters’ lives contextualizing all these images they encounter in the public and in pop culture, and reinforcing a positive body imagine and self-esteem. Mattel continues to make efforts to bring Barbie to a place of more positive realism, but until woman are accurately represented and positive portrayed by gender specific toys, Barbie could be a serious danger to a young girls psyche, giving a new meaning to the phrase â€Å"if looks could kill. †

The Impact of Ict on Tertiary Education

The impact of ICT on tertiary education : advances and promises Kurt Larsen and Stephan Vincent-Lancrin Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Education / Centre for Educational Research and Innovation* DRAFT OECD/NSF/U. Michigan Conference â€Å"Advancing Knowledge and the Knowledge Economy† 10-11 January 2005 Washington DC ABSTRACT: The promises of e-learning for transforming tertiary education and thereby advancing the knowledge economy have rested on three arguments: E-learning could expand and widen access to tertiary education and training; improve the quality of education; and reduce its cost.The paper evaluates these three promises with the sparse existing data and evidence and concludes that the reality has not been up to the promises so far in terms of pedagogic innovation, while it has already probably significantly improved the overall learning (and teaching) experience. Reflecting on the ways that would help develop e-learnin g further, it then identifies a few challenges and highlights open educational resource initiatives as an example of way forward.The first section of the paper recalls some of the promises of e-learning; the second compares these promises and the real achievements to date and suggests that e-learning could be at an early stage of its innovation cycle; the third section highlights the challenges for a further and more radically innovative development of e-learning. Knowledge, innovation and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have had strong repercussions on many economic sectors, e. g. the informatics and communication, finance, and transportation sectors (Foray, 2004; Boyer, 2002).What about education? The knowledge-based economy sets a new scene for education and new challenges and promises for the education sector. Firstly, education is a prerequisite of the knowledge-based economy: the production and use of new knowledge both require a more (lifelong) educated popu lation and workforce. Secondly, ICTs are a very powerful tool for diffusing knowledge and information, a fundamental aspect of the education process: in that sense, they can play a pedagogic role that could in principle complement (or even compete with) the traditional practices of the education sector.These are the two challenges for the education sector: continue to expand with the help (or under the pressure) of new forms of learning. Thirdly, ICTs sometimes induce innovations in the ways of doing things: for example, navigation does not involve the same cognitive processes since the Global Positioning System (GPS) was invented (e. g. Hutchins, 1995); scientific research in many fields has also been revolutionised by the new possibilities offered by ICTs, from digitisation of information to new recording, simulation and data processing possibilities (Atkins and al. , 2003).Could ICTs similarly revolutionise education, especially as education deals directly with the codification a nd transmission of knowledge and information – two activities which power has been decupled by the ICT revolution? The education sector has so far been characterised by rather slow progress in terms of innovation development which impact on teaching activities. Educational research and development does not play a strong role as a factor of enabling the direct production of systematic knowledge which translates into â€Å"programmes that works† in the classroom or lecture hall (OECD, 2003).As a matter of fact, education is not a field that lends itself easily to experimentation, partly because experimental approaches in education are often impossible to describe in precisely enough to be sure that they are really being replicated (Nelson, 2000). There is little codified knowledge in the realm of education and only weak developed mechanisms whereby communities of faculty collectively can capture and benefit from the discoveries made by their colleagues.Moreover, learning typically depends on other learning inputs than those received in the class or formal education process: the success of learning depends on many social and family aspects that are actually beyond the control of educators. Information and communication technologies potentially offer increased possibilities for codification of knowledge about teaching and for innovation in teaching activities through being able to deliver learning and cognitive activities anywhere at any time.Learning at a distance can furthermore be more learner-centred, self-paced, and problem solving-based than face-to-face teaching. It is also true, however, that many learning activities cannot be coordinated by virtual means only. The emulation and spontaneity generated by physical presence and social groupings often remain crucial. Likewise, face-to-face exchanges are important when they enable other forms of sensory perception to be stimulated apart from these used within the framework of electronic interactio n.However, the influence of distance and time is waning now that the technological capacity is available for knowledge-sharing, remote access and teamwork, and organising and coordinating tasks over wide areas (OECD, 2004a). Focusing on tertiary education, this paper examines the promises of ICTs in the education sector, first as a way to better participate in the advancement of the knowledge economy, second as a way to introduce innovations. Leaving aside the impact of ICTs on the research or e-science performed by tertiary education institutions (see Atkins and al. 2003; David, 2004), we concentrate on e-learning, broadly understood as the use of ICTs to enhance or support learning and teaching in (tertiary) education. E-learning is thus a generic term referring to different uses and intensities of uses of ICTs, from wholly online education to campus-based education through other forms of distance education supplemented with ICTs in some way. The supplementary model would encompas s activities ranging from the most basic use of ICTs (e. g. use of PCs for word processing of assignments) through to more advanced adoption (e. g. pecialist disciplinary software, handheld devices, learning management systems etc. ). However, we keep a presiding interest in more advanced applications including some use of online facilities. Drawing on the scarce existing evidence, including a recent survey on e-learning in post-secondary institutions carried out by the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), it shows that e-learning has not yet lived up to its promises, which were overstated in the hype of the new economy. ICT have nonetheless had a real impact on the education sector, inducing a quiet rather than radical revolution.Finally, it shows some possible directions to further stimulate its development. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: the first section recalls some of the promises of e-learning; the second compares these promises and the real achievements to date and suggests that e-learning could be at an early stage of its adoption cycle; the third section highlights the challenges for a further development of e-learning and shows what directions might be the most promising for its further development. I.Advancing knowledge and the (knowledge) economy: the promises of e-learning The emergence of ICTs represents high promises for the tertiary education sector (and, more broadly, the post-secondary education sector if one takes into account their impact on non-formal education). ICTs could indeed play a role on three fundamental aspects of education policy: access, quality and cost. ICTs could possibly advance knowledge by expanding and widening access to education, by improving the quality of education and reducing its cost.All this would build more capacity for the advancement of knowledge economies. This section summarises the main arguments backing the promises. E-learning is a promising tool for expanding and widening access to tertiary education. Because they relax space and time constraints, ICTs can allow new people to participate in tertiary education by increasing the flexibility of participation compared to the traditional face-to-face model: working students and adults, people living in remote areas (e. . rural), non-mobile students and even foreign students could now more easily participate in education. Thanks to ICT, learners can indeed study where and/or when they have time to do so–rather than where and/or when classes are planned. While traditional correspondence-based distance learning has long played this role, ICT have enhanced traditional distance education enabled the rise of a continuum of practices between fully campus-based education and fully distance education.More specifically, fully online learning can allow large numbers of students to access education. The constraints of the face-to-face learning experience, that is, the size of the rooms and buildin gs and the students/teacher ratio, represents another form of relaxation of space constraints. ICTs indeed allow a very cheap cost of reproduction and communication of a lesson, via different means like the digital recording and its (ulterior or simultaneous) diffusion on TV, radio or the Internet.The learning process or content can also be codified, and at least some parts be standardised in learning objects, for example a multimedia software, that can in principle be used by millions of learners, either in a synchronous or asynchronous way. Although both forms might induce some loss in terms of teachers-learners interactivity compared to face to face teaching, they can reach a scale of participation that would be unfeasible via face-to-face learning.When the needs are huge, fully online learning can be crucial and possibly the only realistic means to increase and widen rapidly access to tertiary education. Some developing countries have huge cohorts of young people and too small a n academic workforce to meet their large unmet demand: given training new teachers would take too much time, notwithstanding resources, e-learning might represent for many potential students and learners the only chance to study (rather than an alternative to full face-to-face learning) (World Bank, 2003).E-learning can also be seen as a promising way for improving the quality of tertiary education and the effectiveness of learning. These promises can be derived from different characteristics of ICTs: the increased flexibility of the learning experience it can give to students; the enhanced access to information resources for more students; the potential to drive innovative and effective ways of learning and/or teaching, including learning tools, easier use of multimedia or simulation tools; finally, the possibility to diffuse these innovations at very low marginal cost among the teachers and learners.Distance E-learning has not only the virtue to be inclusive for students that cann ot participate in tertiary education because of time, space or capacity constraints, as it was shown above. It can also in principle offer to students more personalised ways of learning than collective face-to-face learning, even in small groups.Although learning is often personalised to some extent in higher education through the modularity of paths, ICTs allow institutions to give students to choose a wider variety of learning paths than in non-ICT supplemented institutions – not the least because of the administrative burden this would represent in large institutions. This means that students can experiment learning paths that best suit them. Moreover, e-learning can potentially allow students to take courses from several institutions, e. . some campus-based and others fully online. This possible flexibility of individual curricula can be seen as an improvement of the overall student experience, regardless of pedagogical changes. In one word, e-learning could render educat ion more learner-centred compared to the traditional model. A prestigious university generally has a sizeable library gathering tons of codified information and knowledge.One of the most visible impact of ICTs is to give easier and almost instant access to data and information in a digital form that allows manipulations that are sometimes not otherwise possible. The digitisation of information, from academic journals through to books and class notes, can change (and has changed) the life of students by giving them easy access to educational resources, information and knowledge, as well as new data processing possibilities.But e-learning could also lead to the enhancement of quality in tertiary education by leading to innovative pedagogic methods, new ways of learning and interacting, by the easy sharing of these new practices among learners and teachers communities, as well as by more transparency and easier comparisons and cross-fertilisation of teaching materials and methods. Fina lly, e-learning can be seen as a promising way to reduce the cost of tertiary education, which is critical for expanding and widening its access worldwide. It might thus represent new opportunities for students having ifficulties with this traditional format. Although ICT investments are expensive, they can then generally be used at near-zero marginal cost. Where would this cost-efficiency come from: the replacement of expensive brick and mortar campuses by virtual campuses; the digitisation of library materials that would save the cost of keeping huge paper collections; the improvement of efficiency of institutional management; the automation of some of the traditional on-campus activities, including some teaching. II. Living up to the promises: a quiet rather than radical revolutionHas e-learning (and especially online learning) lived up to the promises outlined in the previous section? It has to some extent. The reality of e-learning has never matched its most radical promises (Z emsky and Massy, 2004): while experiments are still underway, the initial stage of over-enthusiasm has ended when new economy bubble burst about 2002. In this respect, e-learning has followed the ups and down of the new economy and given rise to the same caveats as in other sectors: irrational beliefs about its market value, over-investment, over-capacity, and more announces than services really launched (Boyer, 2002).Like other activities, e-learning has not proven yet its ability to generate high profits or to replace the old economy of learning. However, interpreting this as a failure of e-learning would however over-simplify the reality and could be seen as â€Å"throwing the baby with the bath water†. While, perhaps unsurprisingly, e-learning has not led to the radical revolution in tertiary education that was sometimes prophesised, some of its forms are already pervasive in tertiary education and have already led to a quiet revolution.Its modesty should not lead to over look it. This section gives a overiew of the limited evidence we have about the adoption of e-learning in tertiary education. E-learning adoption The radical innovation view was that fully online learning would progressively supersede traditional face-to-face learning and represent a competitive threat for traditional tertiary educational institutions. To some extent, this belief has been a reason for the creation of new ventures and for established institutions to enter this new market: early adopters ould indeed possibly gain a brand name and a serious competitive advantage in the new market. The reality is that, while sometimes successfully experimented, fully online learning has remained a marginal form of e-learning and often not even the ultimate goal or rationale for e-learning adoption. However, this does not mean that e-learning in other forms has not gained significant ground over the past decade in tertiary education: there is indeed some evidence of a noticeable growth o f e-learning adoption both on demand and supply sides.One must bear in mind that e-learning encompasses a wide range of activities. Following the terminology used in the CERI survey (OECD, 2005), we distinguish between different levels of online learning adoption as follows, from the less to the most intensive form of e-learning: ?None or trivial online presence; ?Web supplemented: the Web is used but not for key â€Å"active† elements of the programme (e. g. course outline and lecture notes online, use of email, links to external online resources) without any reduction in classroom time; ?Web dependent: Students are required to use the Internet for key â€Å"active† elements of the programme—e. g. online discussions, assessment, online project/ collaborative work—but without significant reduction in classroom time. ?Mixed mode: Students are required to participate in online activities, e. g. online discussions, assessment, online project/collaborative wo rk, as part of course work, which replace part of face-to-face teaching/learning. Significant campus attendance remains. Fully online: the vast bulk of the programme is delivered online with typically no (or not significant) campus attendance or through â€Å"learning objects†. What do we know about the major trends in the adoption of e-learning by institutions and students? First, e-learning has grown steadily in the last decade, at a relatively rapid pace, but from a very low starting point—and for some activities: from scratch. The lack of comprehensive data renders these trends difficult to document, but existing surveys all point to the same direction of an increasing activity/supply.A significant share of tertiary education institutions have developed some e-learning activities and strategies and believe in the critical importance of e-learning for their long term strategy. The 2003 Sloan Survey of Online Learning based on a sample of 1 000 US institutions shows that only 19% of US institutions have no advanced e-learning activities – that is web dependent, mixed mode or fully online courses (Allen and Seman, 2003). The remainding 81% offer at least one course based on those advanced e-learning activities.Second, this growth of e-learning under all its forms should continue in the near future. There is indeed a converging evidence that tertiary education institutions consider as part of their future development strategy. In the Sloan survey, less than 20% of the US tertiary education institutions considered online education as not critical to their long term strategy. Similarly, data from the first international survey by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) revealed that of the 42 UK institutions that responded (out of a total population of ca. 06), 62% had developed or were developing an online learning strategy and most had done so since 2000 (OBHE, 2002). The second survey undertaken in 2004, 79% of the 122 unive rsities from the Commonwealth countries responding to the survey had an institution-wide â€Å"online learning† strategy as such or integrated into other strategies (46%) or under development (33%). Only 9% of these institutions had no e-learning strategy in place or under development in 2004 .While these figures may reflect some self-selection in the respondents, they unambiguously show a significant adoption or willingness to adopt some form of e-learning in the coming future. Although reflecting different levels of adoption of e-learning, all post-secondary institutions participating in the CERI survey on e-learning point to the same direction and report plans to increase their level of online delivery or to maintain their already high levels (OECD, 2005). Third, virtual universities are not likely to become the paradigm of tertiary education institutions.While it will most likely continue to grow, especially in distance institutions (see below), no evidence point towards a predominance of this form of e-learning in the near future in tertiary education. While the mixed mode of learning blending online and on-campus courses now clearly appears as a better candidate, institutions head towards the simultaneous offer of a variety of learning models. For understandable reasons, only few campus-based institutions (that is the bulk of post-secondary institutions) seem to aim at delivering a large share of their courses fully online or at becoming virtual.While some institutions participating in the CERI survey are at the avant-garde of e-learning, no campus-based institution predicted to deliver more than 10% of its total programmes fully online within three years (OECD, 2005). In the US, rather than offering only fully online courses (16%) or only mixed mode courses (10%), most institutions offer both fully online and blended courses; moreover, the majority (67%) of academic leaders believe that mixed mode and web dependent courses hold more promise than fully online, against only 14% having the opposite view (Allen and Seaman, 2003).This clearly reflects what we know about the main rationales for undertaking e-learning. The OBHE surveys show that on-campus enhancement of teaching and learning (1st) and improved flexibility of delivery for on-campus students (2nd) are the two key rationales in institutional strategies of e-learning. Only 10% of the institutions considered the enhancement of distance learning as more important than on-campus enhancement.Interestingly, the level of importance granted to distance or fully online learning decreased between 2002 and 2004 among returning respondents. Distance or fully online learning remains the fifth most important rationale though (OBHE, 2002, p. 4). Finally, while a generalisation of the fully online model is not probable for tertiary education overall, at least in the medium run, this does not mean that fully online activities are not growing rapidly nor that the fully online learning model gains ground at distance education institutions (Bates, 1995).To our knowledge, no data on fully online enrolments are available for other countries than the United States. According to the 2003 Sloan survey, more than 1. 6 million students (i. e. 11% of all US tertiary-level students) took at least one fully online course during the Fall 2002 and about one third of them, that is 578 000 students, took all their courses online. For example, the University of Phoenix, the largest university in the United States in terms of enrolments, has for example 60 000 of its 140 000 students online.The enrolments of fully online students in the United States were forecasted to increase by about 20% between 2002 and 2003, to 1. 9 million students—a projection that proved to be accurate according to the 2004 Sloan survey (Allen and Seaman, 2003, 2004). This growth rate, which is projected estimated at 25% for 2005 is much higher than the growth rate of total tertiary enrolments in t he United States. From a low starting point, fully online learning is growing at a rapid pace, even if it is merely as a complement to face-to-face or mixed mode learning.Moreover, fully online learning is clearly very important for distance institutions. In the CERI survey, the institutions willing to embrace fully online learning to the greatest extent were all virtual/distance learning only institutions (or branches) (OECD, 2005). In conclusion, e-learning seems to live up to its promises in terms of flexibility and possibly access. It is a growing activity that has for example significantly widened the participation in tertiary education of foreign students (OECD, 2004).Does e-learning improve the quality of tertiary education? The real impact of e-learning on the quality of education is difficult to measure. E-learning largely embodies two promises: improving education thanks to improved learning and teaching facilities; inventing and sharing new ways of learning thanks to ICTs , that is a new specific pedagogic techniques. While the first promise is by and large becoming a reality, at least in OECD countries, the second appears further from reach.Viewed mainly as an enhancement of on-campus education, and thus matching the reality depicted in the previous section, there is some evidence that e-learning has improved the quality of the educational experience on both faculty and students sides (not to mention enhancement of administrative management). All institutions participating in the CERI survey reported a â€Å"positive impact† of greater use of e-learning in all its forms on teaching and learning. The quality of education (with or without e-learning) is very difficult to measure, not the least because learning depends on students’ motivation, abilities and other conditions (e. g. amily, social, economic, health backgrounds) as much as on the quality of teaching. However, the reasons explaining this positive impact on quality largely live s up to the promises of e-learning to offer more flexibility of access to learners, better facilities and resources to study, and new opportunities thanks to the relaxation of space and time constraints. Basically, they do not correspond to a significant change in class pedagogy, but to a change in the overall learning experience. According to the institutions, the main drivers or components of this positive impact come from: †¢facilitated access to international faculty/peers, e. . with the possibility of online lectures or joint classes with remote students; †¢flexible access to materials and other resources, allowing students to revise a particular aspect of a class, giving more access flexibility to part-time students, or giving remote and easy access to the library materials; †¢enhancement of face-to-face sessions, as the availability of archived lectures online frees up faculty time to focus on difficult points and application and because the introduction of e-l earning has sometimes led to a debate on pedagogy; †¢improved communication between faculty and students and increase of peer learning;This â€Å"positive impact† on the overall learning experience is, alone, a significant achievement of e-learning, even though it has not radically transformed the learning and teaching processes. The quality of fully online learning is a more controversial question, possibly because online learning was once viewed as possibly become of higher quality than on-campus education (possibly including e-learning as already mentioned).Comparing the quality (or the beliefs about the quality) of fully online learning against traditional distance learning, traditional face-to-face learning or other mixed modes of e-learning might not yield the same results: fully online learning is indeed more readily comparable to distance learning than to on-campus education. While institutions having adopted e-learning have generally a positive view of its possi ble impact on quality, there is little convincing evidence about the superior or inferior quality of fully online learning compared to other modes of tertiary education.Another question is whether fully online learning has entailed innovation in pedagogy or just replicated with other means the face-to-face experience. As noted above, ICTs could indeed entail pedagogic innovations and help create a community of knowledge among faculty, students and learning object developers that would codify and capitalise over successful innovation in pedagogy. At this stage, there is no evidence that e-learning has yielded any radical pedagogic innovation.The most successful fully online courses generally replicate virtually the classroom experience via a mix of synchronous classes and asynchronous exchanges. Arguably, they have not represented a dramatic pedagogical change. We will see below that in spite of worthwhile experiments, learning objects and open educational resources are still in thei r infancy. They hold promises for educational innovation though. The cost of e-learning Has e-learning lived up its promises in terms of cost-efficiency?Here again, not if one looks at the most radical promises: as noted above, virtual universities have not replaced brick and mortars and saved the cost of expensive building investments and maintenance; digital libraries have supplemented rather than replaced physical ones; the codification and standardisation of teaching in a way that would allow less faculty or less qualified academics has not become the norm, nor have new online learning objects been invented to replace faculty altogether; finally, it has become clear that there was no once-for-all ICT investments and that the maintenance and upgrading costs of ICT facilities were actually important, contrary to the marginal cost of then replicating and diffusing information. Moreover, cost-efficiency has for many universities been a secondary goal compared to the challenge of dev eloping innovative and high quality e-learning courses at many tertiary education institutions. Although the anking of cost-efficiency has increased between 2002 and 2004 by 16%, 37% of respondents considered â€Å"cutting teaching costs long-term† as a key rationale in the OBHE survey (OBHE, 2004)—a small percentage compared to the two key rationales (over 90% of responses). Again, most universities consider e-learning materials and courses as a supplement to traditional class-room or lecture activities rather than a substitute. The predominance of web dependent and mixed modes of e-learning makes the assessment of the costs and benefits of e-learning investments more difficult to evaluate as they become part of the on-campus experience. It is striking that the institutions participating in the CERI survey on e-learning had no systematic data on their e-learning costs (OECD, 2005). In this context, and after the burst of the dot. om economy bubble that put out of busi ness many e-learning operations (many never really started their operations though), identifying sustainable cost-efficient models for e-learning investments in tertiary education has become critical. There are examples of cost-efficient models â€Å"outside† the traditional colleges and universities though. Virtual tertiary education institutions as e. g. the Catalonia Virtual University have a cost advantage as they are developing e-learning material from scratch and not â€Å"building onto† a physical camp. The Open University in the UK which is gradually moving from a traditional distance learning courses using books, video cassettes, and CD-ROMs to online courses has reported that their costs per student are one third of the average cost for similar on-campus programmes in the UK.Fixed capital costs are lower and it is easier to align staffing structures to e-learning processes than at â€Å"traditional† universities. The e-learning activities of Phoenix Un iversity, which is a private for-profit university mainly for adult students, is also seen as cost-effective. Its business model is based on â€Å"standardised teaching†, relatively small on-line class size, and use of proven low-tech e-learning technologies (inducing lower costs than more sophisticated technologies). Much of the faculty staff at Phoenix University is often hired part time and having jobs at other tertiary education institutions, which often implies that staff development costs are lower at Phoenix University than other tertiary education institutions.E-learning investments in tertiary education can be cost-effective, but it depends on the business model, the profile and number of students and topics (cost-effectiveness has been demonstrated in some cases in large undergraduate science classes (Harley, 2003), and initial development costs. The calculations also depend on whether student opportunity costs are taken into account. The initial costs for e-learnin g development are often high (e. g. infrastructure, creating course material from scratch, experimentation, new kind of staff/units, immature technologies, etc. ). In order to ensure that e-learning investments are cost efficient, e-learning activities may need to substitute parts of the on-campus teaching activities (rather than duplication).Educational innovations, like learning objects, could for example allow supporting the re-use and sharing of e-learning materials. Although data is lacking on cost-efficiency, at this stage there is little evidence that e-learning has led to more cost efficiency in tertiary education. Failures have been more numerous than success stories, although the latter document the possible sustainability of e-learning. The adoption of ICTs for administrating tertiary education institutions has probably been the main source of cost efficiency in the tertiary sector, like in other economic sectors. Conclusion: the e-learning adoption cycles So, has e-learn ing lived up to its promises?This is probably true as far as it holds promises for incremental improvement, including an increased access and quality of the learning experience—a kind of change whose importance should not be underestimated. As for radical innovation, the answer is rather: not yet. So far, e-learning has induced a quiet rather than a radical revolution of tertiary education. Perhaps e-learning will follow the same development path in tertiary education as other innovations that first begin with experiments, then expand to a group of early adopters before becoming commonplace. Zemsky and Massy (2004) have proposed a possible â€Å"e-learning innovation’s S-curve† divided into four distinctive but often overlapping adoption cycles that help understand the current development of e-learning, and, possibly, its future challenges. The cycles include: )Enhancements to traditional course/program configurations, which inject new materials into teaching an d learning processes without changing the basic mode of instruction. Examples include e-mail, student access to information on the Internet, and the use of multimedia (e. g. PowerPoint) and simple simulations; 2)Use of course management systems, which enable faculty and students to interact more efficiently (e. g. Blackboard or WebCT). They provide better communication with and among students, quick access to course materials, and support for administrating and grading examinations; 3)Imported course objects, which enable the faculty to embed a richer variety of materials into their courses than is possible with traditional â€Å"do it yourself† learning devices.Examples range from compressed video presentations to complex interactive simulations including the increased use of â€Å"learning objects† ; 4)New course/program configurations, which result when faculty and their institutions reengineer teaching and learning activities to take full advantage of new ICTs. The new configurations focus on active learning and combine face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning in novel ways. They also require faculty and students to adopt new roles – with each other and with the technology and support staff. The overview of current e-learning adoption shows that most tertiary education institutions in OECD countries can largely be located in cycles one and/or two. These first two cycles have largely built upon and reinforced one another. However, they have not fundamentally changed the way teaching and learning is pursued at the large majority of institutions.Their momentum has not automatically transferred to either increasing use and dissemination of learning objects or to the use of new course/program configurations (e-learning cycles three and four). Cycles 3 and 4 correspond to changes remodelling more radically teaching and learning. While some experimentations underway give us some idea of where they could he ad, they are still in their infancy. The third cycle corresponds to the creation of â€Å"learning objects† that can potentially offer an efficient approach to the development of e-learning materials (i. e. reduced faculty time, lower cost, higher quality materials), although many issues remain (e. g. opyright, lack of incentives for faculty to create, the range of actors in and ‘location’ of the creative process, lack of standardisation and interoperability of e-learning software). The learning objects model implies material/course development that departs from the â€Å"craft-model† where the individual professor is responsible for the majority of work. Instead it is a model where the course is assembled largely by or from third-party material. Besides the technical and organisational challenges of developing learning objects, there are also considerable pedagogical challenges using them. Some argue that learning is so contextually based that the breakin g up of the learning experience into defined objects is destructive for the learning process.Evidence from the Open Learning Initiative at the Carnegie Mellon University suggests that effective e-learning courses are often facilitated by having a ‘theme’ that runs throughout the course, which might be difficult to obtain with the notion of decontextualised learning objects (Smith and Thille, 2004). Therefore, much more research and development is needed to ensure pedagogical effectiveness of the learning objects model. For faculty members to rely on others for their material will also need a cultural change as it would probably often be considered today as demonstrating â€Å"inferiority†. Wide use of learning objects in tertiary education will therefore only occur if major changes in working habits and attitudes of faculty are possible. The development of learning objects is very much in its initial phase. This is illustrated by the use of the public available l earning objects repositories as e. g.MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching). The basic idea behind the MERLOT repository was to create a readily available, low-cost, web-based service to which experimenters could post their learning objects and from which interested practitioners could rate and download objects for use in their courses. While there has been a tremendous growth in the number of learning objects made available by MERLOT, there has been very little interest to use what other colleagues had made available and consequently little effort in terms of rating others’ learning objects. This can however be seen as the first steps towards the construction of knowledge communities in education.Despite the premature stage of learning objects and the large number of obstacles to overcome, some standard form of learning objects will probably emerge and gain importance in the development of e-learning in tertiary education as well as in othe r education sectors. Very few institutions have reached the fourth e-learning adoption cycle at an institution wide scale. There are however institutions which are clearly experimenting with new ways of using ICTs that change the traditional organisation and pedagogy of tertiary education. One such example is the previously mentioned Open Learning Initiative at the Carnegie Mellon University. The use of cognitive and learning sciences to produce high quality e-learning courses into online learning practices is at the core of this initiative (Smith and Thille, 2004).As there is no generic e-learning pedagogy, the aim is to design as â€Å"cognitive informed† e-learning courses as possible. The establishment and implementation procedures for routine evaluation of the courses and the use of formative assessment for corrections and iterative improvements are part of the e-learning course development. The development of the e-learning courses often rely on teamwork including facul ty from multiple disciplines, web designers, cognitive scientists, project managers, learning designers, and evaluators. The key question for any project like the Open Learning Initiative attempting a combination of open access to free content, and a fee-for-service model for students using the courses in a degree granting setting is its sustainability.This initiative could not have been realised without significant voluntary contributions from private foundations and a major research grant from the National Science Foundation to start the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center. The next section will address the challenges for the adoption of these third and fourth adoption cycles. III. Challenges for the further development of e-learning in tertiary education: what sustainable innovation model? The aim of this final section is to identify and reflect on some of the key issues that would need to be considered in a systematic way for e-learning to develop further and become a deeper d river of innovation in tertiary education.If the vast majority of colleges and universities are to embrace the third and fourth e-learning adoption cycles, a sustainable innovation and investment model will have to be developed. A first challenge lies indeed in the development of sustainable e-learning innovation models which go beyond using e-learning as an add-on to traditional forms of teaching and learning in tertiary education but rather invent new, useful and better pedagogic innovations partly substituting traditional face-to-face teaching. This will require a broad willingness of these institutions to search for new combinations of input of faculty, facilities and technology and new ways of organising their teaching activities.A second challenge lies in the development of a realistic model for investment in e-learning that would stimulate the participation of faculty and other stakeholders and be financially sustainable, which is not straightforward given that there is littl e systematic knowledge on the real costs and benefits of e-learning investments in tertiary education. However, like for ICT investments in other sectors, the cost-effectiveness of e-learning investments will depend on whether new organisational and knowledge management practices are adopted. It might indeed be more difficult to provide the â€Å"softer† social, organisational and legal changes in tertiary education than the technological infrastructures necessary to fully embrace the advantages of e-learning.This section emphasises partnerships and networks as a possible way forward for further investment, product development and innovation diffusion in e-learning. There are many examples where tertiary education institutions seek to share the costs of e-learning development through partnerships and networking. Partnership and network building are also useful for having access to new knowledge, to learn from others experience and exchange information about the latest develop ments in e-learning and they can involve many different organisations as e. g. traditional colleges and universities, virtual universities, libraries, for-profit ICT and training companies from different sectors etc.These activities can range from sharing material, joint technology and software development, joint research and development, joint marketing, joint training, connectivity, etc. and can be sub-national, national and international (OECD, 2004b; Cunningham and al. , 2000). After showing the importance (and challenges) for universities to engaging their faculty in e-learning, we will turn to an innovative practice exemplifying the potential power of partnerships and networks: Open Educational Resources (OER). They will indeed most likely have significant implications for the way e-learning activities will develop over the coming years in tertiary education. Engaging universities and faculty in e-learningIn most OECD countries the question is no longer whether or not tertiary education institutions should invest in e-learning. Because of the competition between institutions and student demand for easy access to courseware material and flexible learning environments, most tertiary education institutions willing to deliver quality teaching are bound to invest in e-learning. As we have seen, the large majority of institutions are now embracing e-learning adoption cycles one and two, which are basically about providing the students with better access to learning and course material and facilitating the electronic communication between students and teachers.Again, only very few institutions and faculty are however systematically exploring and producing re-usable learning material and objects (third cycle) or have taken full advantage of new ICTs with focus on active learning that combines face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning in novel ways (fourth cycle). The latter approach would require faculty and students to adopt new roles – with each other and with the technology and support staff. While ICTs offer powerful new instruments for innovation, tertiary education institutions are generally decentralised institutions where individual faculty often has the sole responsibility for teaching courses and delivering course material. Adoption of the third and especially the fourth e-learning cycle would imply changing to more collaborative ways of organising and producing teaching material.Faculty members would in many cases have to collaborate with a whole range of new staff as e. g. course managers, web designers, instructional/pedagogical designers, cognitive scientist etc. to produce course material. This could lead to resistance from â€Å"traditional† faculty arguing that current teaching practices have proved its value for centuries and there is no need to change them to new pedagogical and teaching methods, which have hardly proven their efficiency yet. Moreover, promotion of facult y and funding allocations in universities are often linked to research activities rather than teaching activities, often seen as less prestigious.Faculty members have therefore often relatively few incentives to invest their time in e-learning activities. The adoption of new ways of teaching and learning at tertiary education institutions through ICTs can therefore create organisational conflicts and tensions. New organisational innovations, new knowledge management practices, and more team working are therefore necessary conditions for tertiary education institutions to be able to move to e-learning adoption cycles three and four. The CERI study on e-learning case studies in post-secondary education has identified a number of lessons learnt by institutions that are in the forefront of e-learning development (OECD, 2005): More strategic e-learning planning at the institutional or faculty level and to tie this to the overall goals of the institution is needed; †¢A paradigm shift in the way academics think of university teaching would be necessary, e. g. a shift away from ‘scepticism about the use of technologies in education’ and ‘teacher-centred culture’ towards ‘a role as a facilitator of learning processes’, ‘team worker’, and ‘learner-centred culture’; †¢Targeted e-learning training relevant for the faculty’s teaching programme as well as ownership of the development process of new e-learning material by academics is also necessary. There is no one-best-way or trajectory for e-learning development at tertiary education institutions.But it might prove more difficult to provide the â€Å"softer† social, organisational and legal changes in tertiary education than provide the technological infrastructures necessary to fully embrace the advantages of e-learning (David, 2004). It will depend on a whole range of factors not necessarily related to the development of e-learning including: †¢Changes in the funding of tertiary education and in particular e-learning funding; †¢Student demography; †¢Regulatory and legal frameworks; †¢Competition between traditional tertiary education institution themselves and with new private providers; †¢Internationalisation including the possibility of servicing foreign students living abroad; and not the least to the extent to which students will want to use the new opportunities for new and flexible ways of learning.Many tertiary education students would possibly prefer to have some kind of â€Å"mixed model† learning choice involving a whole range of different learning opportunities and forms combining face-to-face, virtual, synchronous, and asynchronous interaction and learning. A possible way forward: Open Educational Resources Open Educational Resources appear as a potentially innovative practice that gives a good example of the current opportunities and challenges offered by ICTs in or der to trigger radical pedagogic innovations. Digitalisation and the potential for instant, low-cost global communication have opened tremendous new opportunities for the dissemination and use of learning material.This has spurred an increased number of freely accessible OER initiatives on the Internet including 1) open courseware ; 2) open software tools (e. g. learning management systems); 3) open material for capacity building of faculty staff ; 4) repositories of learning objects ; 5) and free educational e-learning courses. At the same time, there are now more realistic expectations of the commercial e-learning opportunities in tertiary education. The OER initiatives are a relatively new phenomenon in tertiary education largely made possible by the use of ICTs. The open sharing of one’s educational resources implies that knowledge is made freely available on non-commercial terms sometimes in the framework of users and doers communities.In such communities the innovation impact is greater when it is shared: the users are freely revealing their knowledge and, thus work cooperatively. These communities are often not able to extract economic revenues directly from the knowledge and information goods they are producing and the â€Å"sharing† of these good are not steered by market mechanisms. Instead they have specific reward systems often designed to give some kind of credit to inventors without exclusivity rights. In the case of open science, the reward system is collegial reputation, where there is a need to be identified and recognised as â€Å"the one who discovered† which gives incentives for the faculty to publish new knowledge quickly and completely (Dasgupta and David, 1994).The main motivation or incentive for people to make OER material available freely is that the material might be adopted by others and maybe even is modified and improved. Reputation is therefore also a key motivation factor in â€Å"OER communities†. Be ing part of such a user community gives access to knowledge and information from others but it also implies that one has a â€Å"moral† obligation to share one’s own information. Inventors of OER can benefit from increased â€Å"free distribution† or from distribution at very low marginal costs. A direct result of free revealing is to increase the diffusion of that innovation relative to conditions in which it is licensed or kept secret.If an innovation is widely used it would initiate and develop standards which could be advantageously used even by rivals. The Sakai project has, for example, an interest in making their open software tools available for many colleges and universities and have therefore set a relatively low entry amount for additional colleges and universities wishing to have access to the software tools that they are developing. The financial sustainability of OER initiatives is a key issue. Many initiatives are sponsored by private foundations, public funding or paid by the institutions themselves. In general, the social value of knowledge and information tools increases to the degree that they can be shared with and used by others.The individual faculty member or institution providing social value might not be able to sustain the costs of providing OER material freely on the Internet in the long term. It is therefore important to find revenues to sustain these activities. It might e. g. be possible to charge and to take copyrights on part of the knowledge and information activities springing out of the OER initiatives. Finding better ways of sharing and re-using e-learning material (see the previous mentioned discussion on learning objects) might also trigger off revenues. It is also important to find new ways for the users of OER to be â€Å"advised† of the quality of the learning material stored in open repositories.The wealth of learning material is enormous on the Internet and if there is little or no guidance of the quality of the learning material, users will be tempted to look for existing brands and known quality. There is no golden standard or method of identifying quality of learning material in tertiary education on the Internet as is the case with quality identification within tertiary education as a whole. The intentions behind the MERLOT learning object repository was to have the user community rating the quality and usability of the learning objects made freely available. In reality very few users have taken the time and effort to evaluate other learning objects.There is little doubt that the generic lack of a review process or quality assessment system is a serious issue and is hindering increased uptake and usage of OER. User commentary, branding, peer reviews or user communities evaluating the quality and usefulness of the OER might be possible ways forward. Another important challenge is to adapt â€Å"global OER initiatives† to local needs and to provide a dialogue between the doers and users of the OER. Lack of cultural and language sensitivities might be an important barrier to the receptiveness of the users. Training initiatives for users to be able to apply course material and/or software might be a way to reach potential users.Also important will be the choice (using widely agreed standards), maintenance, and user access to the technologies chosen for the OER. There is a huge task in better understanding the users of OER. Only very few and hardly conclusive surveys on the users of OER are available . There is a high need to better understand the demand and the users of OER. A key issue is who owns the e-learning material developed by faculty. Is it the faculty or the institution? In many countries including the United States, the longstanding practice in tertiary education has been to allow the faculty the ownership of their lecture notes and classroom presentations. This practice has not always automatically been applied to e-learning c ourse material.Some universities have adopted policies that share revenues from e-learning material produced by faculty. Other universities have adopted policies that apply institutional ownership only when the use of university resources is substantial (American Council of Education and EDUCAUSE, 2003). In any case, institutions and faculty groups must strive to maintain a policy that provides for the university’s use of materials and simultaneously fosters and supports faculty innovation. It will be interesting to analyse how proprietary versus open e-learning initiatives will develop over the coming years in tertiary education. Their respective development will depend upon: How the copyright practices and rules for e-learning material will develop at tertiary education institutions; †¢The extent to which innovative user communities will be built around OER initiatives; †¢The extent to which learning objects models will prove to be successful; †¢The extent to which new organisational forms in teaching and learning at tertiary education institutions will crystallise; †¢The demand for free versus â€Å"fee-paid† e-learning material; †¢The role of private companies in promoting e-learning investments etc. It is however likely that proprietary e-learning initiatives will not dominate or take over open e-learning initiatives or vice versa.The two approaches will more likely develop side by side sometimes in competition but also being able to mutually reinforce each other through new innovations and market opportunities. Conclusion There are many critical issues surrounding e-learning in tertiary education that need to be addressed in order to fulfil objectives such as widening access to educational opportunities; enhancing the quality of learning; and reducing the cost of tertiary education. E-learning is, in all its forms, a relatively recent phenomenon in tertiary education that has largely not radically transformed teachi ng and learning practices nor significantly changed the access, costs, and quality of tertiary education. As we have shown, e-learning has grown at a rapid pace and has enhanced the overall learning and teaching experience.While it has not lived up to its most ambitious promises to stem radical innovations in the pedagogic and organisational models of the tertiary education, it has quietly enhanced and improved the traditional learning processes. Most institutions are thus currently in the early phase of e-learning adoption, characterised by important enhancements of the learning process but no radical change in learning and teaching. Like other innovations, they might however live up to their more radical promises in the future and really lead to the inventions of new ways of teaching, learning and interacting within a knowledge community constituted of learners and teachers. In order to head towards these advances innovation cycles, a sustainable innovation and investment model wi ll have to be developed.While a first challenge will be technical, this will also require a broad willingness of tertiary education institutions to search for new combinations of input of faculty, facilities and technology and new ways of organising their teaching activities. 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